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Getting Families Outside, One Adventure at a Time

NATIONAL PARKS

FAMILY TRAVEL, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
10 Ideas for Outdoor Family Vacations & Adventure
- December 23, 2022
If you’re looking to bond with your family and have amazing outdoor adventures together, where should you go for the best family vacation? Here at Run Wild My Child, we get asked about outdoor family adventure travel a lot! And we have a lot of ideas on how to plan the perfect adventure for your family. But, what if I told you that it’s not always about where to go, but more about what you do when you get there? The best outdoor family adventure locations for your family may be different from mine, based on the size of your family, age and interests of your kids, your location, your budget, and a variety of other factors. But, no matter any of these things, this post is going to give you some amazing ideas for traveling together as a family. Today, Jen Barnes, South Carolina mom of three and travel guru, is here to share the top ten outdoor family vacations for those of you craving adventure!

Outdoor adventure travel for families

When outdoor active families are considering where to go and what to do on a family vacation, there are a variety of things to consider. The best family vacations are the ones that perfectly fit your family’s wants and needs. Most families are looking to prioritize the quality time they will have together during their trip. They want to experience good times as a whole family and make memories together. They are open to trying new things and want their kids to have new experiences. These families want to spend less time on screens and more time getting to know each other.

Families that love adventure and prioritize spending time outside have a wide variety of options when it comes to finding amazing outdoor adventure family-friendly destinations. I’m passionate about helping families connect through travel and outdoor adventures, and I’ve been planning trips for my family and others for years. Today, I get to help you!

I arranged this post into ten categories (different locations and types of family travel), with plenty of options in each one. Many of the categories overlap in places, but I think they will get your wheels turning and the ideas flowing about the types of destinations and adventures you could have there. We focus heavily on travel with in the United States, but there are some international options included. I hope they help as you prepare to plan a trip with outdoor adventures and find the best family vacation spot for your family!

1. Outdoor family vacation in National Parks

National Parks travel is likely one of the most common trips a family will take. Is there anyone who hasn’t thought about a Grand Canyon vacation? Or about a hike under those red rock arches? The iconic spots dotted across the U.S. landscape lure families of all types. A National Parks vacation provides wide open spaces for families to explore together. Whether you enjoy hiking, paddling, rafting, horseback riding, or other activities you can find a lot in our National parks.

Multiple national parks or a deep dive?

There are so many ways to do a National Parks vacation. You can plan a road trip that covers a group of National Parks together. A good example of that would be to road trip what is commonly referred to as “Utah’s Big 5”. There will be a good bit of driving involved for this type of trip. The extended days outdoors amongst the rock formations of Arches National Park or hiking along the waterways of Zion National Park will meet those outdoor wanderlusts. Don’t forget that parks like Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park are dark sky areas. They are perfect for nighttime star gazers. You and your family can literally spend from sun-up to past sun-down outside.

Another idea is to do a deep dive of a National Park. You can easily spend a week enjoying parks like Yellowstone National Park, Olympic National Park, or Glacier National Park. Those trips are especially satisfying if you want to do any long-form hiking. All-day treks and multi-day treks eat into an itinerary quickly. This really lets you connect as a family while you soak up the fresh air together.

Planning a national parks trip with kids

Here are a few tips if you are planning a trip to National Parks.
1. Look into an annual pass that will cover your cost for entrance for a full 12 months.
2. Be prepared that cell coverage is scarce inside the parks. Download your maps and let your friends and family know where you are and that you will be out of touch for a while. It’s glorious!
3. Many families choose to camp or RV in the parks, but there are also in-park accommodations to look into. Many parks have gateway towns or cities that facilitate family vacation plans. They offer hotel chain options or smaller mom-and-pop lodging.
4. If you want to stay inside the park, you must plan up to a year in advance.
5. Food can be very limited and pricey inside the parks, so I suggest packing a cooler for those long days of outdoor exploring.
2. Outdoor family vacation in state parks

Do not underestimate the park and recreation systems within each of the 50 states. State parks are outdoor havens on a smaller scale than national parks, but that does not mean they are lackluster. Look first at your own state to find the local treasures. My home state of South Carolina has incredible and diverse options from coast to mountains to choose from. They are perfect for long weekend getaways when we need to step away from the daily grind.

As you plan a family road trip, look to include a few state parks. They offer great day trips and can often have more overnight camping openings than a National Park. The entrance fees are typically less than the National Parks and can give you a closer view of the local area as you explore.

Favorite recommended state parks

A few unique state parks that regularly come up as places to experience together as a family are Starved Rock State Park in Illinois, Watkins Glen State Park in upstate New York, Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Florida. Located along the Illinois River, Starved Rock State Park is filled with hiking trails and seasonal waterfalls. Watkins Glen has amazing waterfalls and is a respite during the hot months of summer. Valley of Fire has rock formations that are fun for scrambling around, especially in spring and fall. John Pennekamp is an underwater park; it’s a haven for snorkeling and diving that families love to visit.

Wakulla Springs State Park, outside of Tallahassee, Florida, is a hidden gem and a family favorite. Home to one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs, the sapphire water of Wakulla Springs boasts manatees, alligators, gars, and a host of diverse birds and wildlife that can be viewed from a riverboat tour, guided by knowledgeable park rangers. The kids will love the boat tour, and you’re basically guaranteed to see alligators galore, up close and personal, in their natural habitat. The water at the springs is a cool and refreshing 70 degrees year-round, which feels absolutely invigorating on sweltering hot Florida summer days.

3. Best family beach vacation destinations

Many a family vacation tradition has begun at the beach. It’s no surprise that families flock to these sandy, sunny spaces to enjoy time together and relax. Of course, not every beach vacation is tropical in nature. Sure, you can hit the warm coastal beaches of the southeast or southern California, where the sun shines, and the temperatures heat the days. A lot of families get out in the mornings to seashell hunt and build sandcastles. Then, head inside for the middle of the day, and return beachside for wave jumping and beach games in the late afternoon until dinner. My family likes to then take a walk down the beach after dinner to extend our outside time.

Beach vacations are a great way to travel as a multi-generational family. Everyone from infants to grandparents can soak up the fun at the beach. It’s nice to have an option that includes everyone for together time. You will primarily find vacation rental properties (with full kitchens) and some of the best family vacation resorts in beach towns that line the coasts. Even the Great Lakes have beaches where families seek out rejuvenation. Make sure to read our tips for a successful beach trip with kids.

Florida beaches with kids

There’s something truly magical about the beautiful beaches in Florida. Florida tends to have something for everyone, whether you’re looking for action-packed entertainment or want to get away from it all. The beaches along the Gulf of Mexico are usually white sand and low surf, making them perfect for families with little kids. Most places we have vacationed have all kinds of outdoor activities for families, including fishing, tide pooling, kayaking, surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, jet skiing, and so much more. A few of our favorite vacation spots to enjoy the Florida beaches with kids are Destin, Gulf County, Anna Maria Island, and Captiva.

A different kind of beach vacation

If you want a different kind of beach – not your typical warm water white-sand beach – then head to the PNW. Even in the summer, the water can be chilly, but that certainly doesn’t stop the kids from exploring the tidepools, digging up razor clams, and splashing in the waves. You’ll be blown away by the abundant and colorful aquatic life in the area – bright purple sea stars, fire-orange urchins, turquoise anemones, red rock crabs, and all kinds of various plants, barnacles, mussels, and more. Our favorite beaches in the Olympic National Park area were Ruby Beach, La Push, Kalaloch, and Rialto. Most of them have that iconic PNW rocky shore feel, with driftwood and sea stacks, dark sand, and a lingering layer of mist. They’re each more beautiful than the next.

International beaches

International beach destinations draw families, too. Consider Costa Rica, where you can learn to surf or go deep-sea fishing. My youngest and I spent three glorious days at a surf camp in Jaco, Costa Rica. We took surf lessons, stand-up paddle boarded, and enjoyed one-on-one time together. Think about Puerto Rico, where you can do a bioluminescent kayak excursion, or the Greek Islands, where you can kite surf. There are so many options for activities! These kinds of activities are great for trying new things together as a family.

4. Camping & backpacking family vacations

Spending a vacation camping or backpacking is a no-brainer for families who love the outdoors. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, many of these ideas overlap, so your camping adventure could take place in a national park, state park, or even at the beach. Family camping inside national and state parks is a great way to immerse yourself in the heart of it all. If your family has the desire to step away from the distractions of daily life, weekend camping trips are a wonderful and low-cost option to maximize your outdoor time and really bond.

State and national park camping

You can certainly camp and backpack in National and state parks. Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks among one of the best spots for a family camping vacation. When we visited Olympic National Park, we came across a family with middle school-aged children who were backpacking for the first time. The hiking was mostly flat, and they camped along the river bed; it looked like a great way to get started. Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina is a great family camping spot in the southeast for its proximity to beachside camping.

Unique camping adventures

Camping can be done at various levels of comfort. RV camping has become increasingly popular with families who love to road trip and explore together but want the comforts of a real bed and bathroom. Car and van camping provide makeshift beds inside a vehicle, but also allow you to be in nature. Tent camping and hammock sleeping put you in the midst of the wilderness, breathing that fresh air all night long. If you’re not quite ready for full-on tent camping or aren’t sure about investing in the equipment needed, you could also consider glamping. Glamping can be anything from those big, heavy canvas tents set up and decked out for families, to sleeping in a teepee, bus, mini-cabin, treehouse, or yurt. Some even have bathrooms connected!

Backpacking for families

Backpacking is a level-up from camping. It’s typically done over a few days and requires you to pack in and pack out all of your own supplies. This includes bedding, shelter/tent, all food, and all waste. Backpacking can be an unbelievable way to immerse yourself in nature and a great family bonding experience. So many of the epic locations you see in photos are from people who have trekked into the deepest parts of the wilderness. Check out this post for more info on how to get started backpacking with kids.

5. Family ski trips (and snowboarding)

There are a number of ski resorts and ski towns across the U.S. that cater specifically to families. There are a wide variety of ways to do a ski trip, but one thing is for sure. You will spend a lot of time outside, and much of it in weather that may not be optimal or even desirable if not for the powder. Ski trips have a way of getting everybody outside in the winter months that may not otherwise. If you don’t ski or snowboard, don’t worry. Most ski areas offer other outdoor activities such as snowshoe trails, dog sled excursions, sleigh rides, and snow tubing. There is so much to do on or off the slopes for the entire family while outside. A ski vacation is an annual tradition for many families!

Snowboarding with kids

If you’re looking for a great snowboarding spot on the East Coast, consider Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont. Bolton Valley was the perfect spot for learning the basics of snowboarding with kids. It is large enough to have nice rides down, but not intimidating or too difficult. The staff is so incredibly helpful and patient! They paid very close attention and assisted every person, from toddlers to adults, as they were learning.

The resort also has an indoor skatepark, which is attached to the Sports Center and has both street and traditional features. It includes a micro mini ramp, a mini ramp, a vert ramp, and even a bowl to ride. The Sports Center also includes a pool, sauna, and hot tub, as well as a game room. And everything at the resort is close enough together that you can easily walk from your room, to the lifts, to the restaurants, to the Sports Center as much as you want! It doesn’t feel overwhelming because it’s all easily accessible.

Click here to read our full review on Snowboarding with Kids at Bolton Valley Resort.

Colorado skiing with kids

Colorado is jam-packed with so many great places to ski with the entire family. Breckenridge and Vail are both huge mountains, with tons of runs for all different skill levels of skiier. There are also a lot of things to do in and around town. Other smaller favorites close to Denver are Keystone, A-Basin, Copper, and Beaver Creek.

One of the best ski resorts to visit with the entire family or kids just learning how to ski is Buttermilk Mountain, just outside of Aspen, Colorado. While not as technical as Aspen Mountain or as large as Snowmass, Buttermilk is a great compromise for families looking for a little bit of everything (and easy access to the other area ski resorts). Buttermilk is the perfect place for kids to learn the basics, master the terrain park, skin uphill, or watch the world’s best athletes during the X Games. It’s usually less crowded than other local mountains but still serves as a one-stop shop for lessons, rentals, tickets, and lounging. At the top of Buttermilk, with panoramic views of the dramatic Pyramid Peak and the entire Maroon Creek Valley, is the Cliffhouse restaurant. Don’t miss this! It’s famous for its Mongolian grill.

6. Outdoorsy activity vacations

Did you realize you can plan an entire family vacation around one outdoor activity? With one week or a long weekend, you can base an entire trip on one outdoor activity of your choosing! As mentioned above, skiing is a great option. Some others that come to mind are mountain biking, fishing, multi-day canoe adventures, snorkeling, surfing, and more.

Plan a trip around your interests

Tap into the interests your kids already have. Find a way to travel to a place that brings some extra excitement around doing it in a new location. Or, if there is an activity you have all talked about trying and are curious about, perhaps plan a trip around giving it a shot!

The best way to plan a trip like this is to search for destinations that cater to the specific activity you and your family are interested in. For example, a quick google search on kiteboarding in the U.S. brings up a list of top spots for this exciting sport. And if Key West, Florida is a place you have always wanted to visit anyway, it may be the perfect outdoor family vacation spot.

Montana, Colorado, Arkansas, and Wyoming are great destinations for fly fishing. If you have avid anglers who want to fish in some of the most scenic locations, you can plan an entire trip around this activity. Make sure you have the appropriate permits and that you follow all of the state laws about catch and release, open season, etc.

Pick a destination where you can do it all

Another idea is to plan an outdoor adventure vacation that incorporates lots of outdoor activities you can try. For example, both the Lake Tahoe area and the Southwest Michigan area have so many amazing outdoor activities for families. You could plan a week-long itinerary in either of these locations with swimming, rock climbing, family hiking, rafting, skiing, cherry picking, sailing, dune buggy rides, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, boating, and so much more! There is a little something for everyone.

7. City vacations for families who love the outdoors

I know what you are thinking when you think about a city vacation. Yes, every city has museums and indoor activities, but many of them also have a host of outdoor tours, parks, and nature nearby. You will, of course, want to plan for a specific season that will allow you to enjoy the outdoor parts. Honestly, a good city destination gives you a taste of both worlds. You can find comfy lodging, great restaurants, and cool outdoor activities!

Fun cities to visit for families will have a variety of outdoor activities and options for everyone in your family or group. City parks with playgrounds are great for young children, but older kids and parents can enjoy them, too. Central Park in NYC and Forest Park in St. Louis are great examples of green space within major metropolian areas that are perfect for the whole family. They offer biking and nature trails, waterways and lakes, museums, zoos, golf courses, restaurants, and so much more. Don’t forget about all of the outdoor dining you can do in the city. The best European family vacation can’t be done without the cafe life!

Urban adventures for outdoorsy families

The best cities for outdoor recreation are typically located near big nature landmarks. Places like Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah, have mountains within a short driving distance. They tend to embrace outdoor activities like skate parks and snow parks to accommodate active people. Miami, Florida, pulls in people who love to be on the water for activities like boating or fishing. Asheville, North Carolina, and Boise, Idaho rank amongst the best cities for hiking because they have good trails nearby and cultivate a culture of outdoor-loving people.

Wendy from the Run Wild creative team highlights San Diego, California, as an amazing outdoor city. San Diego is a great outdoor city because there are so many outdoor family-friendly options! There are countless beaches, parks, and playgrounds. San Diego is also home to the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail for the hikers/backpackers out there. Additionally, it’s home to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, Sea World, the San Diego Botanic Garden which has two amazing children’s areas, The Living Coast Discovery Center, Balboa Park, Legoland, Petco Park to watch Padres baseball, and so much more!

8. Outdoor family vacation at a dude ranch

If you search for memorable family vacations, you will be sure to come across dude ranch vacations for families. The appeal of this type of family trip is that all of your activities, meals, and lodging are in one location and often come together as an all-inclusive option for the whole family. These types of vacations draw families of all ages and are great as a multi-gen travel option. Do be sure to check the minimum age for horseback riding, so that no one is disappointed.

A family guest ranch experience will connect your family with hands-on experiences and exposure to new skills. Together as a family you can learn and experience all of the ranch chores and activities. With that, you will have on-site accommodations suited for a family, and on-site dining usually within walking distance of where you are sleeping. Your days will be packed with outdoor activities, fun for everyone! Those activities may include but are not limited to horseback riding, cattle sorting, shooting (age appropriate), and nature walks. Adults are not left out! Many of the ranch vacation spots will have wine & cheese for parents or even a happy hour.

Horse ranches for the whole family

You may need to do your research to find the horse ranch that meets the needs and desires of your family. You should be able to find everything from mid-range budget to a luxury dude ranch experience, with lots of daily activities. As most travel is, this is an investment into your family memory bank. And remember, almost everything you will need is included in the one-stop pricing.

White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, is a fan favorite for its proximity to Saguaro National Park. Vista Verde Ranch in Colorado is another family favorite and a great place for all kinds of outdoor adventures. Run Wild creative team member Araceli covers the joys of visiting a ranch in winter and all that a ranch vacation can be as a family.

9. Family sailing vacations

There is no doubt that a family sailing vacation is super niche and may not be the right fit for everyone. However, the truth about sailing is that it is unique and fabulous, but not “bougie” in the way you may expect. Sailing is very technical and adventurous, but it can also be very relaxing. There are several ways to plan a sailing family vacation and quite a few destinations that support this type of trip. I usually describe family sailing vacations as camping on the water. And while you camp, you get to travel to some of the untouched places of the world. The only time you’re not completely outside is when you are sleeping, and even then, the windows are open. It’s pretty fantastic.

Sail yourself

The first way to do a sailing trip is to charter a boat and sail it yourself. This is called bareboat chartering, and you will need to be able to demonstrate your skills or provide certification documentation. Our family was able to do this in the British Virgin Islands for an amazing sailing Caribbean vacation. We anchored or docked for small fees and cruised around the islands for nine days of pure bliss. We snorkeled, swam, and visited the different islands for fun. The best part about this type of sailing vacation is that you determine the when and where with total freedom. It does require that you know how to sail.

Charter a boat

The second way to sail together as a family is to hire a captain through a charter company. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the trip without having to do the work. Most countries in Europe, like Croatia and Greece, require a hefty amount of sailing hours and instruction in order to sail on your own. So, last summer, we hired a captain to sail us around the small Cyclades in Greece. My kids took part in helping out with the sailing because they are interested and wanted to learn, but it wasn’t necessary. We enjoyed stopping at various islands, eating at local restaurants, coastal hiking, and relaxing at the beautiful beaches. I cannot recommend a Greek sailing vacation enough!

Small-scale group cruise

The third way to sail together as a family comes in a larger format, but not as big as a traditional cruise. Smaller crafts more suited to authentic experiences and smaller groups can be found. These types of trips not only get you outdoors but afford you unique opportunities you may not find elsewhere. A great example of this is in the Galapagos islands of Ecuador, perfect for a family that thrives on wildlife encounters. Another option that I’m personally keen to experience is Uncruise, which sails to places like Alaska, Baja, and Belize.

10. Outdoor vacation bucket list spots

There are a host of natural wonders and outdoor destinations that call to us on a regular basis. These are the locations that are known for being outdoor havens worthy of a family experience. You see them pop up in lists of “places you must visit once in your life” and such. Families can plan entire vacations around exploring these places or string a few together for a week or more.

Some famous natural landmarks that come to mind that fall into this category are the Badlands in South Dakota, Niagra Falls, the Boundary Waters, the Cliffs of Moher, Lake Tahoe, Arenal Volcano, the Everglades, the California redwood forest, the volcanoes of Hawaii, Mount Rushmore, and the salt flats in Bolivia. Other natural tourist attractions like the Northern Lights in Iceland, tide pools of the PNW, hot springs in Tuscany, barrier reefs in Australia are big hits. The lists are endless and can give just about any family some serious wanderlust. There are so many amazing places in nature, even if they aren’t famous. You just need to seek them out.

Garden of the Gods

Kristen Ryan, from our Creative Team, recently traveled to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been on her bucket list for a while. One of the best things about this park is that it has both easily accessible walking trails that you can use a stroller on and more difficult climbing trails you can take the kids who enjoy a challenge. The views from the top are really unbeatable in the Springs area. The kids absolutely loved getting to climb through the plate-like rocks, and there are always lots of mountain climbers to sit back and watch. There are miles of trails within this little park and then some great small towns to explore nearby when everyone gets hungry after their long walk/hike.

Outdoor family vacations are important

I believe in the importance and benefits of outdoor family vacations for so many reasons. Everyone needs a break from the daily normal, and a family vacation is a great way to get away from your routines, and busy schedules and really reconnect. Give yourself and your family a chance to breathe and do it together. Not only will you create core memories, but you will bond in such a special way. Focus on an outdoor family vacation to elevate the experience and leave behind all of the noise of the world. It’s worthwhile, even if just for a long weekend. Our brains and bodies need this. Give yourself the opportunity to step away from your phone. Get off the wi-fi for a bit and let your mind reset. Let your body work and rejuvenate in nature, too.

Additional resources about family travel & favorite destinations
Are you ready to go on an outdoor family vacation?

About the author

Jen has been married to her original adventure partner, John, for 20+ years. She is a mama to 3 teenagers who, although they have busy and independent lives, love to adventure in the outdoors when they can. Jen is a native of Chicago, but has lived in South Carolina for two decades and calls it home. She’s always planning the next adventure for herself or her friends, whether near or far. Hiking, kayaking, sailing with her family, or traveling the world is all about the experience and the journey. Her extroverted nature keeps her talking and smiling with anyone she meets along the way. She’s on a mission to show other busy families that traveling with teenagers is possible and fun!

You can find Jen online in the following locations:
Instagram: @gofamilyadventure
Website: Go Family Adventure
RWMC Posts: Jen Barnes
FAMILY TRAVEL, LOCAL GEMS, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Top 3 Places to Explore in New Mexico with Kids
- November 11, 2021
Is New Mexico on your “must-see” list? If it’s not, it should be! New Mexico is a beautiful state filled with gorgeous landscapes, rich history, delicious food, fun festivals and so much more! Today, Creative Team member and New Mexico mom of two Lea Reynolds is here sharing her family’s top 3 favorite places to explore in New Mexico with kids. You’re going to want to go check these out right away!

Exploring New Mexico with kids

New Mexico, or the Land of Enchantment, is a beautiful state situated in the Southwest that many around the nation have never visited. New Mexico offers a beautiful experience full of delicious Native American and Mexican food, a rich culture, and extraordinary places to see that you just can’t experience anywhere else. If you have ever wondered what New Mexico has to offer, here are my family’s top 3 places to visit with kids in New Mexico. I will list each wonderful place to visit, what to expect, the best time of year to visit, and include a basic packing list. So let’s get to exploring the Land of Enchantment!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The first place on our list is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta! This event signifies the start of Autumn for us locals. Every October, our blue skies are filled with the colors of the rainbow as hundreds of hot air balloons soar through the sky. It’s the most magical time of year and kids absolutely LOVE it. The fiesta takes place at our very own Balloon Fiesta park where you can buy tickets, pitch a blanket or some chairs and watch the balloons air up and take off. Visitors come from all over the world to experience this hot air balloon site, it’s that magical!

What to expect

The balloons take off at sunrise, so this is an event that requires a very early (maybe 3:00 a.m) wake-up call. The park opens up around 4:30 a.m. and starts filling up very quickly. There is an abundance of burrito stands, coffee stands, and local vendors to explore while you’re waiting for the event to kick off.

It’s important to get there early! Parking is organized by event personnel and fills up very quickly! The early wake-up call will be worth it!

The fiesta also has a night glow event where you can view the balloons light up after sunset. The balloons do not lift off into the air, but it’s a lovely event if you can’t make the sunrise.

Pro tip: You can camp out in an RV to beat the morning traffic.

Some folks prefer to see the balloons in the sky from different places around Albuquerque. The entire city is lit up with balloons, so no matter where you are in town during the week of the fiesta, you can’t miss the beautiful view.

Best time to visit

The fiesta has a set time of year and only sticks around for a few days. It usually takes place at the beginning of October due to the weather being the perfect temperature for the balloons. Make sure to check out their website for more information on future dates.

What to pack
1. Layers of clothing. Early morning temperatures are chilly so a jacket is a must, especially for kids. By the time the morning event is over, you will be shedding your layers into summer clothes. That’s New Mexico weather for ya!
2. Blanket or foldable chairs. You’ll need somewhere to sit and station yourself.
3. Stroller if taking babies or multiple kids. You can walk around the vast park and check out different balloon shapes, shop different local vendors, talk to the balloon pilots, etc.
4. Snacks, drinks for the family.
5. Camera. You’re going to want to capture all those pretty colors!
White Sands National Park

White Sands National park has been claimed to be one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. This park is comprised of miles and miles of decomposed gypsum crystals that glisten so beautifully with the sun’s light.

It is located near the White Sands Missile Range which is a historical wonder for the U.S Military. White Sands Missile Range was also one of the key locations of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb during World War II. But don’t worry, the national park doesn’t test bombs. It’s miles and miles of white, glistening sand that allow for a fun adventure.

What to expect

There is an entrance fee per vehicle, so make sure you have money to purchase it at the entrance to the park or bring your national parks pass.

Pets are allowed as long as they are on a leash and you pick after them.

There are small trails you can walk with your family or you can pull off on the side parking areas and walk onto the sand and explore on your own. We leave our shoes in our cars and explore the beautiful sand dunes barefoot.

You can purchase a permit to camp overnight.

Please do not take the sand or any plants from the park. Abide by leave no trace principles and make sure you take only photos and memories with you when you leave.

For more detailed information visit the White Sands website.

Best time to visit

The park is open any time of year except for major holidays. Our family loves visiting in the Spring and Fall the most. Southern New Mexico is known for its hot temperatures and summer can be very hot for a visit with small children. The sun reflects the heat off the white sands, and believe me, when I say, it’s hot, it’s very hot!

Spring and Fall have crisp temperatures that allow children to visit comfortably and not overheat. We also love visiting a few hours before sunset! Sunset at white sands is like no other! The sky turns an orange-pink color and creates a dreamy and majestic sight with the white sand.

What to pack
1. Lots of water!
2. Food. There are no restaurants in the park and the nearest ones are about a 20-minute drive. I recommend taking food, snacks, and drinks for the entire family.
3. Toboggan for sledding down the sand dunes. They sell some at the park entrance but if you already own one, bring it along!
4. Camera.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks

The Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks is a National Monument located just 40 miles from Santa Fe. It’s famous for its cone-shaped rock formations. The rock formations are composed of pumice, ash, and tuff deposits from volcanic eruptions 6–7 million years ago.

What to expect

There is an entrance fee, which can be purchased at the entrance to the park. The monument area has picnic tables, restrooms, and parking areas. No dogs are allowed.

The tent rocks are on Native-American reservation land, so respecting the land and leaving no trace are common courtesies.

There are two trailheads that are rated as easy (perfect for kids), which allow you to hike through the rock formations and explore their natural beauty. Both are short hikes, but I recommend having some experience, good shoes, and packing your hiking pack. There is no stroller accessibility.

Best time to visit

As of the date of publishing (November 2021), the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument is currently closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s usually open year-round. Again, I highly recommend exploring the area in the Spring or Fall due to cooler temperatures and less risk of heat exhaustion for kids. This hike has minimal shade and is situated in a desert area so it can get extremely hot.

Also, I do not recommend visiting in the Winter due to the snowfall creating icy paths. Half of the trail is closed in Winter as well, due to unsafe conditions caused by ice.

What to pack
1. Lots of water and snacks
2. Camera
3. Hat/sunscreen
4. Layers of clothing
5. Comfortable shoes
New Mexico magic

So there you have it, the top 3 places to visit in New Mexico with kids! We hope you’ll come visit soon and see how much beauty and history our state has to offer. While you’re here, don’t forget to stop at some authentic New Mexican restaurants! Our Spanish food is like no other state’s – mixing Native American and Spanish culture for delicious food that you can’t find anywhere else. If you’re in Albuquerque, Little Anita’s, Mac’s La Sierra, and Los Quates are the best in town. Remember, when you hear the motto, red or green, it’s referring to your chili flavor. If you’re new to chili, try both!

Happy adventuring in the beautiful Land of Enchantment, I know it will be magical!

Have you ever explored New Mexico with kids?

About the author

Lea is a dedicated wife, adventurous mother, Registered Nurse, and Army veteran. She is from New Mexico and strives each and every day to get outside with her wild toddler and newborn baby girl. She and her husband Brandon both served 8 years in the Army and it was during that time their love for the outdoors and seeing the world was born. When they had their son, that passion only intensified. They love to fly fish, overland in their Jeep, hike, surf, and capture these moments on camera. Lea is a professional photographer on the side and you can always catch her with her camera in her hand. Their goal is to influence more families in their rural state of New Mexico to explore the beauty of the SW while educating them on photography tips, medical tips like First Aid, and outdoor safety and gear, etc.

You can find Lea online in the following locations:
Instagram: @wildstokefam
Website: Wild Stoke Fam
RWMC posts: Lea
ANIMALS/WILDLIFE, BOOKS, INFORMATION, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOORS INSIDE
Nature Books for Little Naturalists
- January 22, 2021
In a world where research for so many young people takes place on the internet, it’s so nice to find books that are both educational and beautiful! Today, Jemma, English teacher and mom of 4 is here sharing 9 awesome nature books from Quarto Publishers that will help inspire a love of nature in your children. These nature-focused books are perfect for homeschoolers or for any kids excited about learning about the world around them and how they can help save and protect it. These books cover a range of nature-related topics, from the environment to endangered animals, and celebrate the diversity of our beautiful world. Each of these books will encourage your child to appreciate nature, want to protect it, and inspire action.

{This post contains affiliate links}

Nature books for kids

We’re huge fans of nature books around our house. If we can’t get outside, I like giving my kids the next best thing…books about the outdoors! Many nature books are filled with facts, beautiful illustrations, and lots to learn. Kids love reading them over and over, learning something, or noticing something different every time. Today, I’m sharing nine beautiful children’s picture books about nature, all from Quarto Publishers. I hope these nature books will inspire, educate and help your children develop a deep sense of love for nature and the outdoors.

Here’s a quick list of the books I’m reviewing and a link to purchase from Amazon (affiliate link). Additional info and my review of each book are below. I hope you’ll find some new reads, add some of these beautiful books to your shelves at home, give as gifts to a nature-loving kid or add to your library wishlist.
The Lost Book of Adventure: from the notebooks of the Unknown

For the ultimate guide to outdoor adventuring, this book is the best and most beautiful guide to inspire kids to get outside that we’ve seen. It has lovely illustrations, this would make a great coffee table book to pore over and inspire kids to get out and explore. Adults, teenagers and young kids all enjoy this book on different levels. The illustrations are really beautiful and very detailed with plenty of scope for many, many discussions on various adventures and skills you need to survive them. We love this book it’s one we shall treasure, refer to and use for a very long time.

North Pole South Pole by Michael Bright

Beginning with the North Pole, this lovely children’s book introduces the geography and climate of the Arctic. This book is great for helping with homework. It’s also a great resource for kids to research how climate change is affecting the sea and why ice is so important to walruses and polar bears. The best thing about the book is that you flip it over and you arrive in the South Pole… The famous race to reach the Pole in 1911 is retold and readers will discover why the orca is the ultimate polar predator. The icebergs, sub-glacial lakes, and ice chimneys of the Antarctic are brought to life with beautiful illustrations which makes it a lovely read for kids of all ages.

50 Reasons To Love Endangered Animals

50 Reasons To Love Endangered Animals is such a great book for explaining why we need to love and care for endangered animals! The book explains show there are so many reasons to love animals: lions have magnificent shaggy manes, penguins go tobogganing on their tummies, bears wiggle and dance as they scratch, whales sing songs, and elephants can feel sadness. But the book explains that all the animals in this book especially need our love – now more than ever. It’s very accessible for young readers making complicated environmental topics easier to understand. It also gives children a variety of ways they can help protect endangered animals, which gives them a sense of empowerment. I believe this book would be a great classroom reader – it’s a vital resource for younger children, the illustrations are absolutely beautiful, some of the loveliest animal images I’ve come across in children’s literature which really does help to engage even younger children on environmental issues in the book.

National Parks of the USA: Activity Book

I don’t live in the US, but that certainly doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy and appreciate this beautiful book. Many moons ago, I traveled to some of America’s most beautiful National Parks and would have loved this activity book. If you’re planning a road trip to any of the National Parks – this would be such a great keepsake. Take a tour of America’s great outdoors and discover the beauty and diversity of majestic national parks. The book is packed with maps and fascinating facts about the 21 different US National Parks. You can explore Florida’s Everglades, travel down the white water rapids of the Grand Canyon, trek across the deserts of Death Valley, and scale the soaring summits of the Rocky Mountains! This book brings you up close to nature’s greatest adventures.

The Secret Life of Trees

Did you know that trees can talk to each other? Or that the oldest living thing on the planet is a tree? Let the ancient and mysterious Oakheart, the oldest and wisest tree in the forest, lead you through this beautiful guide to trees. Oakheart knows all the trees’ secrets, and he’s going to share them with you! This collection of stories about trees will inspire you to look after the world around you. The stories in this book are so sweet and adorable. They each provide fun and engaging tree/forest facts that inspire curiosity and wonder in kids. They’ll impart a love of nature, and inspire you to look after the world around you. The illustrations are so magical and whimsical. This is a book that we’ll read over and over.

Experiment with Outdoor Science

Are you looking for ways to learn while also enjoying the great outdoors? Look no further! This book is great for the kid that loves science or is always asking “why?” The book is filled with hands-on outdoor science projects and activities for kids will help them explore and understand the world around them. The Experiment with Outdoor Science book shows that science isn’t limited to the classroom – it can be found out in the garden or in the kitchen step-by-step instructions with an emphasis on fun, achievable experiments to give kids hands-on experiences. The science behind each experiment is explained so that kids can understand how the science happens!

Glow in the Dark: Nature’s Light Spectacular

Nature’s Light Spectacular by Kay Flint (with colorful fun drawings by Cornelia Li) is a wonderful book that teaches children to appreciate the wonders of the world by examining one of the many phenomena of lights. This is such an interesting topic for a children’s book and really beautifully done. This book teaches kids (and adults) about lots of different light phenomena that I wasn’t even aware of! Examples include a firework of meteor showers, solar eclipses, double rainbows, super blood moon, and brocken spectre. Have you ever heard or seen any of those? It also discusses volcano lightning, polar lights, and glowworm caves! How amazing is that? It’s a real beauty of a book that you’ll learn a lot from.

Let’s Save Our Planet: Forests

There are lots of research books for kids about forests but this one is special. It is (most obviously) all about forests, the animals who live in forests, the environmental danger of deforestation and different ways in which we can tackle deforestation. It covers how scientists and conservationists are helping to protect forest creatures and tech inventions like robot tree-planters, which help kids become aware of the incredible solutions to deforestation that are being worked on around the world right now! But the best thing about it is how it has a clear list of facts that kids can learn or use for homework help or a project support a clear list of actions of how we can help save the forests. This book is great for the budding naturalist in your family and filled with actionable items that they can start making a difference right now!

Encyclopedia of Insects

If you have kids that love worms, bugs and creepy-crawlies like mine do, then this Encyclopedia of Insects is going to be a perfect read! This book is such a wonderful resource for kids wanting to look up and learn about bugs and insects. It’s packed with hundreds (300, actually) of bugs in fascinating detail written by a natural history expert. It covers the cutest and most beautiful bugs, to the deadliest and most disgusting ones! It’s got a little something for everyone. Plus, it does a really great job of showing how and why bugs and insects are important to the planet and what they do for us humans. It’s educational, informative, and fun!

Raising little naturalists through books

Kids learn to love what they experience, know and understand. Reading books about nature, our planet and the great outdoors is a wonderful way to spark their interest and curiosity about the world around them. Hopefully, that curiosity will lead to a love and appreciation of our planet, and the plants and animals that live on it. These books would be a perfect addition to your outdoor education and will help you raise a kid that loves and appreciates nature. I hope they help you and yours connect to our planet, nature, and the great outdoors this year!

Which book is your favorite?

About the author

Jemma lives in London, England with her husband and kids. Her all-time favorite thing to do is take photos and capture memories of her family. She’s on a mission to ensure parenthood doesn’t rush by so quickly by creating mini family outdoor adventures and hopefully some big adventures too, one day! She’s a mum to four and an English teacher to many. She loves sharing her passion for storytelling, adventures, and nature crafts on her blog and here.

Find more from Jemma in the following locations:
Instagram: @thimbleandtwig
Blog: http://www.thimbleandtwig.com
Facebook: @thimbleandtwig
Etsy shop: ThimbleandTwig
RWMC posts: Jemma
ANIMALS/WILDLIFE, FAMILY TRAVEL, HIKE, LOCAL GEMS, NATIONAL PARKS
Kakadu National Park, Australia with Kids
- October 8, 2020
Kakadu National Park is Australia’s largest terrestrial national park, situated in the Northern Territory’s tropical north. It would be hard to find a place that is more unique or diverse as this Aboriginal-owned World Heritage-listed National Park. It’s an incredible place. Today, we have Jodie of Territory Mama here to take you along on a trip through Kakadu and give you all the recommendations, tips, and advice you need to plan a trip to Kakadu National Park with kids.

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park spreads across almost 200kms from north to south and over 100km east to west. The diversity of landscapes it covers range from coastal and estuaries to billabongs and floodplains, through to the rocky ridges and stone country of the Arnhem Land Escarpment. These landscapes are home to more than one-third of Australia’s bird species and one-quarter of it’s freshwater and estuarine fish species. Not only does Kakadu extend across such spectacular landscapes and diverse wildlife, but it’s home to the oldest living culture on earth.

But, the best part about Kakadu National Park is that it’s easily accessible for families. And there are lots of amazing outdoor experiences for families to discover together. It’s a truly magical place and you can’t understand quite how incredible it is until you experience it for yourself, but I’ll do my best to capture a little bit about what makes this place so special.

Things to do in Kakadu National Park with kids

There are so many things to do in Kakadu National Park with kids. I’ve broken activities down by a couple of different categories: cultural experiences, waterfalls, and magical sunsets. These three activities encompass a lot of other activities that can be done at these locations (hiking, swimming, animal sighting, camping, etc.).

Cultural experiences at Kakadu

The traditional owners Bininj Mungguy have lived and cared for this country for more than 50,000 years and you can experience firsthand their connection to the country through many of the cultural experiences and tours on offer within Kakadu.

Guluyambi Cultural Cruise – Kakadu Cultural Tours

The Guluyambi Cultural Cruise is a scenic boat tour upstream of the majestic East Alligator River. Your Aboriginal guide will provide insight into their culture, traditions, and beliefs. You will experience traditional hunting and gathering techniques and learn about the many uses for the plants and animals that call this area home. You may also spot many of the local saltwater crocodiles that inhabit this spectacular river. The cruise operates between May and November and is owned and managed by the traditional owners of Kakadu.

Yellow Water Cruises

Ran by the Indigenous-owned Kakadu Tourism, the Yellow Water Cruises offer a year-round boat cruise along the ever-changing Ngurrungurrudjba (Yellow Water) Billabong. It is recommended to take the cruise during sunrise or sunset when the wildlife is most active but many visitors undertake more than one cruise during their stay to experience the changes in wildlife at different times of the day. While cruising along the tranquil wetland there is an abundance of wildlife to encounter, up to 60 different bird species, saltwater crocodiles, wild horses, buffalo, and wallabies all in their natural habitat.

Warradjan Culture Centre

Warradjan Culture Centre was developed by the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu to help tell their story. Displays include artifacts, bush tucker, and local artwork. During the dry season (April – September) local Aboriginal artists often conduct demonstrations here from painting to traditional weaving techniques and the kids are always welcome to join in.

Waterfalls at Kakadu National Park

There are so many stunning waterfalls to choose from at Kakadu National Park its hard to know where to start. Some can be a little more difficult to access than others and depending on your family’s level of hiking, its always a good idea to check with the Bowali Visitor Centre to see which falls would best suit your family. Here are our picks that are easily accessible but still have spectacular views and perfect swimming holes.

Gunlom plunge pool

Only a 100 metre walk from the carpark this sandy beach-like pool is perfect for young families. A shallow entry means the smallest members can splash by the edge while the more adventurous can swim to the waterfall. Gunlom is a seasonal waterfall and best visited in the early dry season (May – June); however, the bottom pool remains swimmable usually until August-September. (Gunlom waterfalls pictured below)

Maguk

Maguk requires a little more of a walk-in with a rocky 2km track. However, the effort is worth it when you reach the stunning turquoise pool. This waterfall is spring-fed so it flows year-round, which makes it a perfect stop even for travelers visiting later in the year when other falls start to dry up. Seasonal closures do still occur due to crocodile movement, so always check with the visitor centre before your visit.

Igoymarrwa

Igoymarrwa is a small crystal clear plunge pool located in the southern end of the park. Although a short drive in from the main Kakadu Highway, you will still require a 4WD. The waterfall however is just a short walk from the carpark opening up to a lush little oasis. (Igoymarrwa pictured above)

Jim Jim and Twin Falls

If you happen to visit Kakadu during the wet season (October – April) a scenic flight over Jim Jim and Twin Falls is an experience you will never forget. You can choose between a light aircraft or helicopter, with flights leaving from both Jabiru and Cooinda airstrips.

Magical sunsets at Kakadu

There’s a number of sites to take in the incredible Kakadu sunset but here are our top three.
1. Gunlom Top Pools – Gunlom is perched at the top of a waterfall. You can take in not only some of the best views in Kakadu but watch as the sunset lights up the bush and surrounding escarpment.
2. Ubirr Rock Art site – This point is overlooking the Nadab floodplain. It’s a stunning cultural site where you’ll feel as though you’re on a set from a movie scene. Channel your inner Lion King while watching the sun set into the horizon and the birds find their way to roost for the night. Ubirr is also home to some of the oldest artwork in the world, with galleries dating back thousands of years.
3. Nawurlandja Lookout – Nawurlandja overlooks the mighty Burrungkuy rock and Anbangbang billabong. The sun here sets behind you but you have front row seats to a spectacular display as Burrungkuy escarpment transforms before your eyes with the setting sun. (pictured below)
How to get to Kakadu National Park with kids

Kakadu National Park is approximately 250km south of Darwin. If you fly into Darwin you can hire a car to explore the park on your own terms. Alternatively, you can join one of the many tours on offer, but be prepared these are often rushed and on a strict time schedule. We recommend 5-7 days to explore the park at a leisurely pace and to really explore all Kakadu has to offer.

When planning your visit keep in mind the scale of the Park, 200km from North to South. Many attractions are a full day out. If hiring your own vehicle, we highly recommend a 4WD. While much of the park is still accessible via 2WD, it will limit the sites you can visit, particularly, the waterfalls.

Where to stay at Kakadu National Park with kids

Kakadu National Park has a range of accommodation options to suit most budgets. Cooinda Lodge Kakadu, Aurora Kakadu Lodge and Caravan Park, and Anbinik Kakadu Resort all offer a range of air-conditioned cabins, eco tents or unpowered and powered campsites. For those looking for a little more luxury on their visit be sure to check out the Mecure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, which has been built to resemble a crocodile!

There are, of course, many campgrounds throughout Kakadu if you have your own camping gear. We love the campgrounds at Gunlom, Mardukal, and Garnamarr.

It is always a good idea to check in with the staff at the Bowali Visitor Centre before your visit to get the most up to date reports on road conditions, site openings. You can also get more in-depth information about the walks, level of difficulty, and whether they are suitable for you and your family.

Our land has a big story. Sometimes we tell a little bit at a time. Come and hear our stories, see our land. A little might stay in your hearts. If you want more, you can come back.”

Jacob Nayinggul, Manilargarr Clan

About the author

Jodie is a mum of two little adventurers living in the Top End of Australia. With a passion for nature and a lust for adventure, she is always exploring with her two littles in new and exciting places or special old favourites.

You can find more from Jodie online in the following locations:
Website: territorymama.com
Instagram: @territorymama
FAMILY TRAVEL, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota with Kids
- August 10, 2020
The Black Hills are a small and isolated mountain range in western South Dakota. The name “Black Hills” is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. They were called “black” because of their dark (tree-covered) appearance from a distance. With over five million acres of forest and mountain lands, you’ll also find rich western history, abundant natural beauty, and outdoor adventure. Today, we have Natalia Pollard of @ThisAdventureFamily here, with tips for visiting the Black Hills in South Dakota with kids, where to stay while you’re there, and all the must-see attractions!

Black Hills of South Dakota

The Black Hills region of western South Dakota is an outdoor recreational paradise. Monuments, wildlife, rugged mountains, caverns and scenic drives are just a few things that you should put on your list when visiting South Dakota. The area covers over 10,000 square miles of vast prairies, grasslands, badlands landscapes, and rugged mountains. Year-round opportunities for outdoor adventures abound, and beg to be explored and experienced by families and kids of all ages.

The Black Hills is home to large herds of buffalo, wild mustangs and burros. The world’s largest collection of reptiles. Wall Drug. Six theme and amusement parks. Museums, galleries, and music festivals. Dig sites of prehistoric mammoths and dinosaur exhibits. Crazy Horse Memorial. The Black Hills National Forest and Badlands National Park. Old West shootouts, rodeos and cowboy supper shows. Custer State Park. Hiking, backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, camping, trail riding. Historic Deadwood and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Mouth Rushmore.

The best time to visit the Black Hills

While there is an abundance of things to do in South Dakota during all seasons of the year, the absolute best time to visit is late Spring and early Fall. During these times, the daytime temperature is ideal for exploring the beautiful Black Hills and the places aren’t as crowded as during South Dakota’s peak season which runs from June to August.

An important thing to note is that while the daytime temperatures are very comfortable in the summertime, it can dip significantly in the nighttime, so plan accordingly.

Where to stay in the Black Hills

The best way to explore all that the Black Hills have to offer is to stay right in the heart of it! Whether you’re traveling in an RV, tent camping or using lodging facilities, your options are many. We stayed at the Center Lake Campground for one week in our 29 feet Travel Trailer. Campgrounds in Custer State Park fill up quickly. We suggest making reservations way ahead of your visit!

Some of the other popular campgrounds that offer all types of stay (RV, tent and cabins) are Bluebell Campground, Game Lodge and Stockade Campground. Beware, some of the roads in the Black Hills are very narrow, windy and with sharp turns. There are also three tunnels that will not allow an RV through them. Make sure you pick up a map at the entrance to the park so you can see where the tunnels are.

Top 5 must-see outdoor places in the Black Hills

With so many amazing sites to see and places to explore, it’s hard to narrow it down to only five! We spent a week in the area and still didn’t cover everything. There truly is something for everyone. This means you can plan your trip according to your family’s interests and hobbies. Whether you’re a history buff, an outdoor adventure junkie, an avid hiker, a water lover or a foodie, there’s something for you!

1. Custer State Park

The number one attraction in the Black Hills is Custer State Park. This 71,000-acre park is abundant with wildlife and adventure! Nearly 1,300 bison wander the park with pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goats and a band of burros. It features nine campgrounds, at least five large beautiful lakes with clear mountain waters, hiking and biking trails, wildlife viewing, horseback riding, camping, chuckwagon suppers, fishing, jeep safaris and much more. There is truly something for everyone in Custer State Park!

2. Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake is the most popular Lake in the Black Hills. It’s a favorite of anyone who has visited it. Sylvan Lake is so picturesque that you will end up photographing it from all the angles. Every picture will be just beautiful! There are a lot of amenities at Sylvan Lake – a lodge with fine dining, campsites, swimming beach, hiking trails, boat rentals, fishing, rock climbing, you name it!

Sylvan Lake can take the whole day to visit, make sure you arrive early to get a parking spot as it fills up fast. We did some hiking first and by the time we were done, we were ready to cool off in the lake! Sylvan Lake Shore Trail takes you around the lake, it is an easy trail with a few places to scramble some large rocks. If you have time and would like to take on a moderate trail – definitely check out Sunday Gulch Trail, it’s amazing, but not suitable for toddlers. Bring good waterproof hiking shoes!

3. Wildlife Loop Road

If you’re looking to view some wildlife, make sure to take a drive down Wildlife Loop Road. It stretches for 18 miles through open grasslands and hills, winding up and down. Depending on the time of day that you visit, you might be able to spot herds of buffalo, wild burros, antelope, deer, elk, prairie dogs, eagles and other birds. Wild burros are very friendly. If you’re lucky enough to run into them, make sure to stop and let them say hello to you! Besides all the wildlife, you will also see a variety of beautiful wildflowers. The best time to take a drive down the Wildlife Loop Road is usually in the morning or at the sundown, when the animals are most active.

4. Spearfish Canyon

If you’re up for another scenic drive, then head to the Northern part of the Black Hills to take in the scenery of Spearfish Canyon. Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway is such a beautiful drive with towering palisades on both sides, Spearfish creek lining the base of the canyon and three waterfalls to explore on your drive. Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish Falls and Roughlock Falls can be found right off the byway and feature both, lower and upper levels for viewing the falls. We suggest that you choose to hike down to the lower viewing areas as the views are so worth it!

5. Badlands National Park

No visit to the Black Hills is complete without making a stop at Badlands National Park. Located south of Rapid City, near the town of Wall, this National Park is full of dramatic landscape boasting many layered rock formations, steep canyons, and towering spires. Take the scenic road through the park and stop at many lookouts! Most of the hiking trails are located near the Ben Reifel Visitor Center. Notch trail and Door trail are two of the most popular trails in the park. We suggest that you hike early in the morning or closer to sundown, as there is no shade at the Badlands.

Exploring the Black Hills with kids

Regardless of what kind of outdoor activity you prefer, you will surely find something amazing to do at the Black Hills of South Dakota. From the faces on Mount Rushmore and the Spires of Custer State Park to the caverns of Wind Cave National Park, and the alien feel of the Badlands, the Black Hills area is home to some truly monumental places. Year-round activities, fun attractions, and lots of outdoor adventures make this an amazing place to visit with kids. I hope this inspires you to plan a trip to the Black Hills soon!

Have you ever been to the Black Hills?
What’s your favorite outdoor thing to do there?

About the author

Hi, I’m Natalia Pollard, mom, wife, and adventure seeker. After becoming a mom to my two boys, I developed a deep appreciation for nature, being in the wild and exploring new places. On a regular day, you can find us checking out a new park, splashing in a lake somewhere, or taking a hike together. As a family, we always try to immerse ourselves in nature and connect with each other and the Earth. That’s why we have recently started our full-time RV life and it has brought us even closer.

Follow along with our adventures in the following locations:
Blog: This Adventure Family
Instagram: @ThisAdventureFamily
Facebook: @ThisAdventureFamily
YouTube Channel: This Adventure Family
FAMILY TRAVEL, HIKE, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, SUMMER
Exploring Capitol Reef National Park with Kids
- July 3, 2020
Exploring national parks can be an amazing experience for families. One of Utah’s most beautiful and underrated parks is Capitol Reef National Park. This park is great for hiking, learning about new cultures, camping, appreciating natural beauty, bonding as a family, finding yourself, and so much more. Today, we have Katie Fox, a full-time RV-traveling mom of 2, here with everything you need to know about exploring Capitol Reef National Park with kids.

Exploring Capitol Reef National Park with kids

Our family loves exploring national parks. However, one big problem with national parks is that they’re usually huge and have so many neat places to explore. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you are anything like me, the list of things to do and places to see can be daunting and overwhelming when trying to plan your adventure. This is especially true when you factor in planning a trip that accommodates the needs and desires of small children. Never fear! I’ve got your back. I’m here to share everything you need to know to plan a successful, family-friendly weekend adventure exploring Capitol Reef National Park with kids.

Capitol Reef kid-friendly hiking trails

There are numerous hiking opportunities at Capitol Reef. The options can feel overwhelming if you don’t know much about the area. Here are a couple of kid-friendly hiking trails in Capitol Reef that are easy to squeeze into an adventure-packed weekend in the park.

Sulphur Creek Waterfall Trail

Sulphur Creek Waterfall Trail in Capitol Reef National Park is a 1.8-mile round trip hike. It’s easy and, while it is a full sun hike, it’s a really great way to beat the heat! The trail begins right behind the visitor center and follows the shallow Sulphur Creek as it meanders through red rock canyons. We walked in the creek almost the entire time. The water helped keep us nice and cool.

If that isn’t amazing enough, it ends at a large swimming hole and small waterfall. The swimming hole is murky brown because of the red clay bottom. The water temperature is perfect! There is just something surreal and wondrous about taking a dip surrounded by the lovely red rock canyon walls. The best part? Even if you don’t make it to the waterfall and swimming hole, you and your little hikers can still play in the creek and enjoy the amazing views.

Hickman Bridge Trail

Hickman Bridge Trail is one of the most popular hikes in Capitol Reef National Park. If you are looking to avoid crowds, this one may not be for your family. Full disclosure, this 1.8-mile round trip hike is in full sun and has some elevation gain that is sure to tire little legs. If you’re up for it, I recommend hiking this one in the morning, when the temperatures are cooler.

The trail does offer stunning views, such as the ruins of a granary and the foundation of a pithouse used by the Fremont Culture, as well as the smaller Nels Johnson Bridge. If you, like our family and many overly ambitious parents before you, attempt this hike and find you aren’t up for finishing it, just know you are not alone!

Gooseneck Overlook

This .2 mile round trip hike (yes, you read that right), is at the end of a washboard dirt road. If you and your vehicle are up for the bumpy ride, the overlook is beautiful. We even saw an adorable snake chasing a lizard, which obviously captivated the children more than the beautiful view.

Capitol Reef kid-friendly activities

There are lots of other kid-friendly activities to do at the park besides hike. These are the experiences that really make Capitol Reef distinct from the other nearby national parks. They really add that extra something special.

Fruit picking in historic pioneer orchards

Yes, that is correct! There are fruit trees in the historic town of Fruita. You are able to meander through them and pick fruit to your heart’s content. They have apricots, cherries, apples, mulberries, plums, peaches, walnuts, and more. They bag and charge for what you leave the orchard with, so be prepared with cash. Check the Capitol Reef website to find out which fruit is ripe for the picking when you go, because orchards are notoriously finicky. Avoid my mistake and speak with a ranger or call ahead to double-check which fruit is available. We went in early June and nothing was ready yet. My kids were expecting a fruit picking experience and it was unfortunate to have it end up being unavailable.

Pies at Gifford House

Nothing lifts people’s spirits quite like pie, right? If you do happen to follow in my footsteps and the orchards are not available, grab a fruit pie at Gifford House! Gifford House is a restored Mormon pioneer house that operates as a small storefront. Inside the store, you’ll find delicious fresh-baked pies, cinnamon rolls, sourdough bread, homemade ice cream, replicas of items pioneers would use in daily life, and more. Once you purchase your pie (or various other goodies), there is a lovely grass area right out front where you can sit and enjoy your treats while taking in the spectacular red rock walls.

Be on the lookout for marmots

Have you ever seen a marmot? I realize marmots are not just in Capitol Reef National Park, but we’d never seen them before. These adorable little creatures inhabit the area of Fruita. There are signs along the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive warning of their frequent road crossing. If you happen to see one, count yourself lucky. Plus, a sighting may also lend itself nicely to learning more about the chunky little creatures.

Capitol Reef Scenic Drive

If your little hikers are tired of all the walking, or if it’s too hot to be outside, consider a driving tour of the park. The Capitol Reef Scenic Drive is a sixteen-mile round-trip drive and is absolutely stunning. It offers a lot of different views of the park and all the areas. Not to mention, there are weather permitting offshoot dirt roads you can venture down and explore. Capitol Gorge Road and the highly recommended Grand Wash Road meander through tall rock canyon walls and provide more beautiful views. Even if you skip the detours, the drive is lovely and has pull outs for you to stop and take photos or just linger to soak in the views.

Earn a Junior Ranger badge

The chance to earn a Junior Ranger badge is available at almost all national parks and is a great way to round out your trip. With my kids, this experience always adds some additional fun (and learning) to our park adventures. The Junior Ranger booklets are chock-full of information about the park, including geology, plants, animals, Leave No Trace practices, and the former peoples and cultures to inhabit the land.

As part of the Junior Ranger program in Capitol Reef, you must attend a ranger talk. There are so many amazing options, including bats, geology, the Fremont culture, and more. Plus, if you turn in your completed booklets, you get a badge and sworn in as a Junior Ranger. If your little ones are like mine and struggle with the end of a trip, the swearing-in process is a wonderful send-off and makes leaving a little easier for everyone.

Explore the cultures at Capitol Reef National Park

One of my favorite things about national parks is how they try to incorporate information about the cultures and people that inhabited the land before it became federally protected land. Here are a couple of kid-friendly activities and options to incorporate cultural learning and bring awareness to your adventures at Capitol Reef.

Explore the historic town of Fruita

If you have time, Fuita is a little pioneer town full of buildings to explore and things to see. An old-school house, a barn, Gifford House (as mentioned above), a nature center (which due to Covid-19 we were unable to explore), and more. There are signs to provide some information about each building too. I found it really neat to share with my children how the Fremont people lived in the area before the Mormon pioneers and how each culture was different. I am a total history nerd and very much enjoy learning these types of things.

Petroglyph Point

Petroglyph Point is a short trail right off the main road. This is such a lovely stop and I highly recommend it. There are several spots to view the petroglyphs created by the Fremont culture and some are in amazing shape. My little ones tried to guess what each symbol meant and we looked them up later in a petroglyph handbook we picked up at the visitor center.

Capitol Reef National Park resources

There are so many amazing things to do while exploring Capitol Reef National Park with kids. This is a small list of all the amazing things Capitol Reef has to offer. The Capitol Reef website provides a variety of other options, and even has a section for visiting with children.

Looking for some more information to make your trip the best it can be? Read up here for some more tips from Run Wild My Child.
- A Beginner’s Guide to Hiking with Kids
- Hiking With a Toddler
What’s your favorite place to explore in Capitol Reef National Park?

About the author

Katie lives in a tiny home on wheels and travels full-time with her two mostly wild children, tech-minded partner, two well-traveled pups, and adopted pet snail. As they wander the North American continent, Katie explores as much as possible, with a particular fondness state and national parks. When not trekking through the outdoors, Katie enjoys baking, homeschooling, consuming mochas from local coffee shops across the continent, practicing her photography skills, and soaking up as much knowledge as she can. As an advocate for families exploring the great outdoors, Katie co-founded a Hike it Baby branch in her hometown in Northern California. Katie has a Master’s degree in human development from the University of Missouri, Columbia, but her passion is really history and humanities (which is coincidentally what her Bachelor’s degrees are in). She currently volunteers on the Hike it Baby National team as a contributing blogger.

You can find more from Katie online in the following locations:
Instagram: @familyinwanderland
Website: http://www.familyinwanderland.com
Facebook: @familyinwanderland
FAMILY TRAVEL, INFORMATION, NATIONAL PARKS
Tips for a COVID-Safe Roadtrip with Kids
- June 29, 2020
Traveling looks much different right now than it looked last summer. With the COVID-19 pandemic still happening across our country (and the world), there are more restrictions on travel and lots of precautions and considerations that must be taken before leaving, along the way, and while you’re at your destination. Today, Nichole, a homeschooling mom of 2 and road-tripping expert, is here with some COVID-safe roadtrip health and safety precautions that families should consider in order to keep themselves and others safe.

Please note – any decisions to travel are highly personal and we encourage you to take note of the risks, do your research, consider your doctor’s advice, assess your family’s health and make your own informed choice. Do not travel if anyone in your family is sick or running a fever. The information shared here cannot guarantee anyone’s health or safety and is not meant to be divisive or comprehensive. Please do not travel through Indigenous communities at this time. This post contains affiliate links.

Making the decision to travel during a pandemic

Summer started months ago for many of us. Usually, by this time of year, the kids and I have been on the road for several extended trips already. As states began to reopen, we made the tough decision to drive from Arkansas to Arizona to surprise my Mom for her birthday. We hadn’t seen her in nine months and she lives two states away (one of those states is Texas). My husband and I talked for a week before we made a decision about the trip and it was not an easy decision to make. We decided to go with the idea that we’d be diligent, overly-cautious, and not take any unnecessary risks.

Road-tripping during a pandemic is a scary prospect, even more so to do it with children. There are a lot of things to consider and a lot of things we’d need to do differently for this trip. However, I found that by taking some protective measures, along with a few changes to our typical routine, we had a great COVID-safe roadtrip experience! Today, I’d like to share some of the steps I took to make our trip safe and successful.

Laying the plans and making tough decisions

I’ve made this drive at least five times already, but this time would be different. Normally, I am not one to stress over road trips, but if I’m being honest, this one made me worry. I approached our road trip planning (which is also a foreign concept to me as I rarely plan these shenanigans) with an overabundance of caution. We talked about all the options for overnights: camping versus hotels versus AirBnB‘s versus sleeping in the car.

After seeing if my kids and I could squeeze in the back of our Subaru Outback (not really), we decided against that option. I prefer more remote, dispersed camping, so public campgrounds with shared bathrooms were not an option for me during this trip. We don’t have an RV (though renting one may be a great solution!). After looking into the status of forest lands, I decided we would avoid them. Some lands are still closed within New Mexico and Arizona, and it is advisable to avoid Indigenous communities entirely due to the COVID outbreak. That left hotels and vacation rentals – both of which have their own issues and restrictions, but they were the best and safest option for us.

COVID-related safety precautions while roadtripping

Our final decision was to make the drive in two days rather than three, to minimize exposure. After careful research, our opinion was that hotels were probably the cleanest they’d ever been and I felt okay about staying in hotels. I picked a Drury Inn in our destination for day one (Albuquerque) and we left at home at 6 AM.

We are no strangers to long days in the car, but this one was different. Most of our favorite stopping points were either closed or not the best idea to visit. Palo Duro Canyon and Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa and Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. Not everything was closed – the Texas State Parks are open but require advance tickets purchased online and there are capacity limitations in place.

One of the great things about traveling out west (or anywhere) with a highly capable vehicle, is the ability to roll down unknown roads to find a breaking spot. We took several rest breaks along back roads and side roads. We avoided people and got the chance to experience some beautiful countryside.

COVID-related hotel safety precautions

After a long 13 hour day of driving, we finally pulled into a familiar Drury Inn (we’d stayed there two times before). I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised upon our arrival to find the hotel very quiet with hardly any cars in the parking lot. The check-in process was smooth, all the employees and guests wore masks (my children and I included; it was required in the lobby). I was impressed with their social distancing measures in place.

To minimize any exposures, I carried one backpack into our room with what we would need for the night, plus our electronics. I wiped down any surfaces we would touch and we all relaxed for a moment while I ordered Panera for pick up. The restaurant was in the parking lot for the hotel and was incredibly convenient. Our hotel room was impeccably clean and any blankets, throw pillows, or comforters had been removed from the room so the beds only had sheets and pillows. We found that staying in a hotel and getting food to go felt perfectly safe with the excessive protective measures in place.

Roadtripping pit stops during a pandemic

We left Albuquerque the next day at 5 AM (mainly because my kids wake up ridiculously early). I stopped at a Starbucks because I know they require employees to wear masks and gloves. A few hours down the road (and every cheesy photo op along the way) we made a stop on a random dirt road off the interstate. That turned out to be a great choice because my kids got out to run free, I made some more coffee and even got their bikes down for them to burn some energy off.

When we needed to stop for gas, we took extra precautions. When pumping gas, I used a paper towel as a barrier between my hand and the gas pump. I wiped my card down after inserting it into the card reader. I brought my own hand soap to use in the bathrooms and sanitized my hands immediately after getting gas or going inside. If we went inside a gas station, we all wore masks.

The bathroom situation…

There’s one question that I know you’re wondering about, so let’s just get it out there. Yes, we also used the bathroom there. No, I didn’t bring a toilet along. And yes, we adhered to Leave No Trace principles. Yes, that kind of bathroom stop too.

I planned for roadside bathroom breaks and brought along toilet paper and a disposable bag to put used toilet paper in and planned to throw away at our next gas stop. Public bathrooms don’t totally terrify me, but we found it faster and smoother (less exposure) to use back roads and side roads for this COVID-safe trip. Depending on where you’re traveling, this option isn’t always possible, but it made us feel safer.

Here are few roadside bathroom break tips:
- urinate on hard surfaces;
- dig cat-holes for number two;
- bring extra toilet paper and/or flushable wet wipes;
- bring a disposable bag to store any used toilet paper with you;
- if you need privacy, open both passenger doors and hide in between them;
- if you are traveling with younger children, bringing a small, portable toilet for the little ones to use.
National Parks are re-opening…slowly

We also stopped at Petrified Forest National Park along the way, thanks to our Annual Parks Pass. I researched ahead of time to make sure the park was open and read about any restrictions or cautions. There were not many crowds and nearly everyone wore masks at any potentially crowded stops. Luckily, we had nearly every stop to ourselves. Most people were really great about keeping distance and being respectful of space. It also felt good to get out and stretch for a while.

When visiting a national park this time of year, it’s important to go early, bring sun protection, and carry plenty of water. We hiked the relatively short Blue Mesa loop and enjoyed the views of the Painted Desert along the way. If you plan on visiting a national park (or any park) along your way, do your research. It’s imperative that you check websites ahead of time for closures or capacity limits. Some parks are requiring reservations via advance ticket purchases. Please be respectful and obey city/state guidelines, especially within Indigenous communities. To learn more about recreating responsibly, please take some time to read this guide.

Things to bring on a COVID-safe roadtrip

Before heading out, we added a few things to our packing list to make this a COVID-safe roadtrip. I realize that wearing masks is a contentious topic (we’re not here to debate this), but they are required for some states. I am a practiced sewist, and made masks for my family with pockets for medical-grade filters. You can order masks from many different outlets now, depending on what your preferences are. My “clean all the things” bag contained: two kinds of hand sanitizer, a hand sanitizer in spray format, antibacterial wipes, baby wipes, Lysol spray, and extra masks.

I also decided to pack our food for breakfast and lunch. Snacks, drinks and a cooler are all a must. I’m okay with ordering food to go, but thought that eating out only for dinner would minimize any risks. Coffee is a necessity for me when I’m doing these massive solo road trips, and our backpacking stove is a great tool for making coffee on the road. Paired with my JavaDrip, it’s a fairly quick and easy process.

I would also recommend a backpack to carry things into a hotel for an overnight stay. Choose one that large enough to hold things for the whole family, so you’re not taking in multiple suitcases. My kids were not allowed to bring their stuffed animals into the hotel just to minimize any exposures. For more about my solo travel safety tips (and my backpack system) check out THIS post.

COVID-safe roadtrip recommendations & tips

Wherever you’re going, read ahead and do your research! Now is not necessarily the time for spontaneity and winging it along the way. Call ahead, check websites, ask questions, get suggestions and make reservations. Campgrounds are filling up fast due to more people camping and utilizing RV travel. Some parks are open, some are not. All of these things can be researched before you go to minimize stress, inconvenience and confusion. Also, bear in mind that the guidelines for masks vary from city to city and state to state. Bring them and be prepared to wear them (or make alternative plans if you choose not to).

Before leaving the house, lay out a tentative route plan, but allow for flexibility. We noted two small towns along our way that were closed to outside visitors. Knowing this let us plan ahead for pit stops. One of my favorite things I’d highly recommend is cheesy photo ops along the way! Say yes to these! You may not be able to get into the museums or attractions, but you can grab some super fun photos to commemorate your journey. Most of these are free from people and you don’t have to touch anything. Plus, it’s a great way to get out and stretch your legs. Atlas Obscura is one of my favorite resources for finding these fun photo ops. Just remember to be respectful of private property and follow local rules and guidelines.

The payoff

The main (well, and only) reason we made this big trip was to surprise my Mom for her birthday. She had absolutely no idea we were coming and I sneaky planned it with the help of my stepdad. My husband wasn’t able to come along due to work commitments, but gave me his full support for this endeavor. We could barely contain our excitement, nor could we wait for 6:30 AM, the decided-upon time to surprise her.

I hauled cardboard boxes with us from home. I bet my parent’s neighbors were very curious as to why I was assembling boxes on the corner so early in the morning. We tiptoed our way down the street and my kids hid in the boxes on the front step. I rang the doorbell then hid around the corner. It was without a doubt the BEST surprise of my life! I’ll never forget the joy and happiness when my Mom realized it was my kids in those boxes. We. Missed. Our. Family. Friends, I know you do too. I encourage you to take the trip. Do so with caution, but not with fear. For some extra-happy goodness, check out the full surprise video HERE. 100% worth it.

COVID-safe roadtrip resources

For a full list of the things we brought along to make this trip safe- click HERE.

For a list of helpful things to entertain kids on long trips – click HERE.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram at coleyraeh to see all of our adventures and shenanigans, including the return trip home.

You can read more about our family on my website.

Thanks for reading friends, if you have any questions please feel free to message me on Instagram or send me an email.

About the author

Nichole is mama to two incredible adventurers, an older boy and a younger girl, and they are on their fifth year of homeschooling. She has been married to her best friend for nearly thirteen years and they share a mutual love for the outdoors. An Iowan native now living in the south, she is happy to claim Arkansas as home. She is a wanderlust (and coffee) fueled, fearless, road-tripper who has been known to take off for epic adventures at a moment’s notice. Hiking and camping (of the backpacking variety) and crystal digging are a few of their favorite family activities. You can usually find her in the woods somewhere (probably up a creek and jumping off waterfalls), or on an epic road-tripping adventure with the kids.

You can find Nichole online in the following locations:
Website: http://www.luckeywanderers.com
Instagram: @coleyraeh
RWMC posts: Nichole
CAMP, FAMILY TRAVEL, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Top 5 Things to Do in Yellowstone National Park with Kids
- December 9, 2019
Yellowstone National Park is the oldest and one of the most spectacular national parks. This 3,500 square-mile wilderness recreation area sits atop a volcanic hot spot, in Wyoming. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers. It’s also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk, and antelope. With so much to do and see, planning a visit to Yellowstone with kids can be overwhelming. However, we have Kathleen White, photographer and full-time RV mom of three, here sharing her family’s top 5 things to do in Yellowstone National Park with kids. Plus, she’s got lots of great info on how to get to all these places and what to expect while you’re there. If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone with kids sometime soon, make sure you read and bookmark this post!

Visiting Yellowstone with kids

Have you ever been somewhere where you felt like you were standing on another planet? Where the colors and sounds literally take your breath away? This is exactly what it feels like when visiting Yellowstone National Park. America’s first National Park, with over 2.2. million acres of steaming geysers, colorful springs, and wildlife galore, it has quickly become our family’s favorite National Park.

However, since it is so large it can be overwhelming to try and plan where you should visit, especially if you have kids coming along with you. So, to help make your trip to Yellowstone easier, I’m sharing my top five things to do in Yellowstone National Park with kids, plus info on getting to each location.

Getting there

First, let’s talk about getting into Yellowstone National Park. There are five entrances- North Entrance, Northeast Entrance, South Entrance, East Entrance and West Entrance. For reference, when we visited we entered through the North Entrance and stayed at Mammoth Campground and had to drive about an hour and a half to get to Old Faithful! Here’s a little bit about each to help you decide which way you want to go.
- North Entrance: best if visiting Mammoth Hot Springs and the Boiling River
- Northeast Entrance: best if visiting Lamar Valley
- East Entrance: best if visiting Yellowstone Lake
- South Entrance: best if also wanting to visit Grand Teton National Park
- West Entrance: best if visiting Old Faithful
1. Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs are a must when doing Yellowstone National Park with kids. In the Mammoth area, the hot, acidic solution dissolves large quantities of limestone on its way up through the rock layers to the hot springs on the surface. Above ground and exposed to the air, some of the carbon dioxide escapes from the solution. Without it, the dissolved limestone can’t remain in the solution, so it reforms into a solid mineral. This white, chalky mineral is deposited as the travertine that forms the terraces. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas. But they are so different from other thermal areas. They’ve been described as looking like a cave turned inside out!

To get to the terraces at Mammoth Hot Spring, use the boardwalk to walk all along the terraces and view unreal springs, full of colors and steam. Liberty Cap is probably the most famous landmark of the Lower Terrace. This hot spring cone was named in 1871 for its resemblance to the peaked caps worn during the French Revolution. Minerva Spring is favorite because of its wide range of colors and intricate travertine formations.

Don’t put off walking to the top, it’s worth it, even with kids! You can access the upper boardwalk from the one-way Upper Terrace Drive and parking lot. The road winds among springs for 1.5 miles before it loops back for a half-mile.

2. Have a picnic with elk by the Albright Visitor Center

After hiking through Mammoth Hot Springs you’re going to be hungry! Located by the hot spring is Albright Visitor Center. This historic structure was built by the United States Army in 1909 as bachelor officers’ quarters for the cavalry troops who protected the park before the creation of the National Park Service. This pit stop is outfitted with picnic tables and views of the springs and elk! Gather the kids and picnic with wildlife (just watch out for scat 😜). It also has a bookstore, a backcountry office, restrooms, and free Wi-Fi.

Go inside Albright Visitor Center and talk to a ranger to learn more about the history and wildlife of Yellowstone. Get help planning your trip and stamp your National Parks passport. Kids can also become Junior Rangers and earn a badge.

3. Swim in the Boiling River

Once you have trekked through Mammoth Hot Springs, on your way out you can stop by the Boiling River for a swim! Don’t worry this river isn’t actually boiling. The Boiling River was created where a large hot spring entered the Gardner River. The hot and cool waters mix into a temperature comfortable enough to bathe in. The natural hot tub makes a great place to stop and relax while soaking in the warm water and soaking up the natural beauty of Yellowstone. It is a little bit of a hike to get down there and parking fills up fast in the summer, but it is a must-do if you are visiting Yellowstone with kids.

Pro tips: The Boiling River is closed once it gets dark, so go during the day. It’s open 3 seasons (winter, fall, late summer), but closed during the spring when the river rises and becomes dangerous and often doesn’t open until mid-summer. Take your swimsuit because skinny-dipping is against the rules.

Yellowstone’s Boiling River is located approximately 2 miles north of Mammoth and 2.9 miles south of the park’s North Entrance. This must-stop spot is just south of the 45th Parallel Bridge, located in the Mammoth area of the park. It’s right near the North Entrance to Yellowstone accessed via Gardiner, Mont.

4. See Old Faithful erupt

Old Faithful is obviously the most quintessential thing to do in Yellowstone National Park with kids. Old Faithful is a cone geyser named in 1870 for its frequent and somewhat predictable eruptions. It has erupted every 44 minutes to two hours since 2000. Old Faithful eruptions can vary in height from 100-180 feet with an average near 130-140 feet. Eruptions normally last between 1.5 to 5 minutes.

Because eruptions happen so frequently (about 20 times a day), you can plan when you want to see it around the rest of your schedule for the day. Make sure to get a seat early and listen to the Ranger give amazing facts all about Old Faithful. Like the fact that when you are sitting out there, there is enough magma to fill 13 Grand Canyons. What?!

Old Faithful is located in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin in the southwest section of the park. The geyser-viewing area is the most accessible and visitor-friendly in the park with bench seating, a large parking lot, and a ranger station that tracks the time, height and length of an eruption to predict the next eruption.

5. Admire the Grand Prismatic Spring

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, add a visit the Grand Prismatic Spring to your trip to Yellowstone National Park with kids. Of all the stunning sights that Yellowstone has to offer, the Grand Prismatic Spring is far and away the most majestic and awe-inspiring. At 160 ft (almost 50m) deep, it’s the largest hot spring in the U.S. and the third-largest in the world. The spring’s incredible rainbow colors give it an other-worldly appearance. Needless to say, Grand Prismatic is Yellowstone’s most photographed thermal feature and to many the main reason to visit America’s Oldest National Park.

This was our favorite place we saw while we were there. This area is extremely popular with tourists and it’s important to plan your visit ahead in order to avoid frustration, traffic and massive amounts of people. Also, make sure to give yourself 1 to 2 hours for your visit, more if you are planning to hike to the overlook. Make sure to walk across the bridge past an out of this world steaming spring, to admire the vibrant blue and orange colors of the Grand Prismatic Spring.

As you enter Yellowstone National Park, look for signage to the Midway Geyser Basin. The Grand Prismatic parking lot is incredibly busy and priority seems to be given to the many visiting tour buses. Traffic can be heavy at times and is often impeded by visitors parking along the roads and around the parking lot entrance.

5 things to do in Yellowstone National Park with kids

I hope this list of the 5 best places to visit in Yellowstone National Park with kids helped make planning your adventure less overwhelming. Or, I hope that maybe we inspired you to visit America’s first National Park! Yellowstone is unbelievably amazing and is definitely someplace that everyone should get to experience.

Check out our Yellowstone videos

If you’re more of a visual person, we’ve got you covered! Here are two of our family’s videos of all of these places in Yellowstone we mentioned above. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more of our RV adventures homeschooling, exploring National Parks and living the RV life! I hope you enjoy!

About the author

I’m Kathleen, wife to my high school sweetheart and mama to 3 energetic littles. I’m a photographer in love with telling compelling stories of life’s beautiful chaos and photographing families authentically. I am slightly obsessed with window light, Saturday morning snuggles, and documenting our adventures. We recently took the biggest leap of faith of our lives and are currently traveling full-time around the United States in our RV!

You can follow all our adventures online in the following locations:
Website: http://www.faithboundtravel.com
YouTube: Faith Bound Travel
Instagram: @faithboundtravel
RWMC articles: Kathleen
CAMP, FAMILY TRAVEL, LOCAL GEMS, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
A Central Washington Road Trip with Kids
- June 17, 2019
Taking local road trips with kids is a great way to teach your children about the history and beauty of your home state. You don’t have to go far to find fun new campgrounds, forests, monuments, museums, diners, shops and hikes. Today, I’m really excited to share a post all about one family’s adventures on a Central Washington road trip and camping trip with kids. Evangeline Dittman – writer, photographer and Seattle mom of two – is here sharing the good, the bad, and the bizarre of her family’s most recent camping trip. Evangeline has the most amazing way with words -she’s the perfect mix of hilarious and humble – guaranteed to make you fall in love with her and their adventure. Ready to hit the road?!

Spring break tradition

Our family has a tradition of traveling over spring break. We live in Seattle, where winters are gray and drizzly. By the time April rolls around, we’re starved for sunlight. Last year, instead of our usual trip to Somewhere Sunny, we decided to stay more local and spend our spring break camping. We had just bought a travel trailer and were feeling bold. That trip has gone down in our family’s annals as the “Mud Camping Trip.” I now have enough distance on the experience to be able to speak of it without breaking into hives, but I still choose not to dwell on it. This sums it up nicely: We ended up visiting a laundromat during that trip, and the laundromat owner said we were nuts to be camping in that area, at that time of year.

Central Washington road trip

Undaunted by our mud camping misadventure, we decided to camp over this year’s spring break as well. My husband plans most of our family adventures; for this trip, he plotted Central Washington road trip, which is sunnier in spring—and blessedly drier—than is the western half of the state. We started at a state park in Yakima (we’re big fans of state parks!). Then, we wended our way through wine country and hops fields to take up residence at a second state park, this one just south of Moses Lake. Along the way, we hiked a canyon, sampled wines, toured a nuclear reactor, visited a petrified forest, and—yes—played in mud. (Though this time the mud was contained and didn’t necessitate a side trip to the laundromat.)

Yakima

We began our Central Washington road trip in Yakima, Washington. Did you know Yakima, Washington produces nearly 75% of all US hops? Me neither! Yakima’s hops production surpassed Germany’s a few years ago and hasn’t yet given up the lead. Evidently, that’s a big deal to hops connoisseurs. Me, I just think the hops fields are pretty and the beer is tasty.

Yakima greeted us with lush hops fields and pruned vineyards. This put me in the perfect state of mind for family camping. Our campsite at Yakima Sportsman State Park was spacious and verdant, filled with friendly families and overly-friendly leaf bugs. (I had to escort out several dozen that just wouldn’t follow our social cues when we felt tired or needed privacy.)

The kids spent most of their campsite time on their bikes, checking out the lily pond and playground. The trails were wide and flat, but something on them had it in for my son’s bike tires. Husband spent his evenings applying patches, and we eventually had to go into town for a new bike tube.

Hops & wine

We hiked the Cowiche Canyon for our first outing. Offering a variety of short trails with little elevation gain, it’s a great hiking option with kids. We nevertheless chose to tackle the steeper, rockier Winery Trail because…wine. If you make it to the end of the trail, you’re rewarded with crisp rosé wines in air-conditioned tasting rooms.

Or so I assume. We didn’t make it to the end of the trail. My Seattle kids don’t tolerate unrelenting sunshine very well, and the sun was beating down on us that day. What’s more, the Winery Trail offers very little in the way of shade. It does, however, offer plenty of raptor and vulture sightings. The enthusiasm for those was almost enough to propel our kids onward up the hill, but not quite.

It’s just as well. We chased marmots back down the trail, scooted over the more treacherous stretches on our bums, and lay on shaded boulders while we snacked. Added bonus: At the end of the trail, the kids played under a weeping willow’s canopy. My daughter insists it’s a whomping willow while my son prefers to call it a happy willow.

Finding the wineries

Rest assured, we did eventually make it to some tasting rooms. The Bonair Winery features a pond with fish and ducks that the kids can feed while you sip wine. (The tasting-room hosts provide food for the critters!) The VanArnam Vineyards has a sweet old dog that will frolic with the kids while you sip wine. See? The kids can interact with nature while you sip wine: parenting done right.

Toppenish

Another day trip took us to Toppenish, a small city noted for their outdoor murals—over 70 of them—depicting various historical scenes from the region. What does 70+ outdoor murals plus two kids equal? Several hundred rounds of I Spy with My Little Eye.

We hit the famed Miner’s Drive-In restaurant on our way back into Yakima. We were surprised (and a little frightened) to discover they serve burgers as big as your head. Honestly, just order one burger. Get your photo, then cut the burger in half and share it. Ugh, three weeks later and I’m still groaning from that burger. Their shakes are purportedly masterful, but we were too stuffed to try one.

Yakama Nation Museum

We visited the Yakama Nation Museum on our way out of town. The exhibits there are a bit choppy. I needed more background information to make sense of some of the stories presented. Then again, my attention was divided between the exhibits and my antsy kids, so it’s possible all the background one needs is there and I just missed it. Alas, museums and children are ancient and natural enemies. I had to do my part to keep them both safe from each other.

Hanford Site B Reactor

Never let it be said that the Dittmans failed to explore a nearby national park. Turns out, the Hanford Site—home to the world’s first plutonium production reactor; source of the plutonium used in the first nuclear explosion (the Trinity test), as well as in the nuclear bomb that the US detonated over Nagasaki, Japan; and the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States—is now a national park. And we went there.

We did our best to prep the kids for the tour. Husband covered the science of nuclear fission while I attempted to sketch out the history and prevailing fears that led to the Manhattan Project. Imagine doing this in four-minute chunks—the approximate attention span of our youngest—using vocabulary a kindergartener and third-grader could grasp. We mostly failed, of course, but it’s important that we tried, right?

Funny aside: I went into the tour thinking it might be the inspiration for the kids’ upcoming science fair. Maybe my oldest could do a presentation on how nuclear reactors work? In hindsight, I’m laughing my butt off. The tour lasted two hours. Twenty minutes in I knew we wouldn’t be explaining nuclear fission to anyone anytime soon.

The truth about the reactor tour

The tour is very science-heavy and disappointingly light in setting the historical context. It starts with a forty-five-minute bus ride (the kids’ favorite part of the tour—the bus was very plush), during which our tour guide, whom I dubbed Euphemism King, described the geography of the area and what made it suitable for hosting nuclear reactors. He sort of glossed over the fate of the people who were farming that land when the government moved in, just as he glossed over the environmental and social impacts of operating a nuclear reactor. Details about the weapons that Hanford’s plutonium enabled, and the millions of tons/billions of gallons of the resulting radioactive waste that is oh-so-leaky were similarly glossed over. All in all, it was a very glossy tour.

Junior Rangers to the rescue

BUT, they have a junior ranger program! Never let it be said the Dittmans failed to earn a junior ranger badge when within a five-mile radius of one. The requirements for this badge were tough. We had to chase down very persnickety details, but the kids nailed it. My favorite part of the ranger workbook was the fill-in-the-blank prompt: I saw my first _____________ at Hanford. Now, I don’t know how often you hang out in a nuclear reactor, but every square foot of it was pretty stinkin’ new to me. I could have filled in the blank with one hundred things that I was seeing for the first time. The kids, however, were most wowed by the typewriter.

Turns out, it’s a teletype machine, so make that 101 things I was seeing for the first time.

Hanford Site gift shop

There’s a funny little gift shop at the end of the tour. I don’t think it’s affiliated with the Hanford Site, though the owner does have official-looking memorabilia—Manhattan Project pins and patches, informational booklets and the like. She also offers a unique assortment of kitsch. The shop gives a kind of 1950s garage-sale vibe. My daughter fell in love with a frankly hideous porcelain keepsake for baby’s first haircut. As it was only three dollars and I had just finished praising her for her patience on the not-so-kid-friendly tour, I bought it for her. Maybe she’ll always remember the atomic bomb when she looks at it?

We chatted a bit with the shop owner and learned that she is descended from the first wave of folks who were recruited to work at Hanford. She graduated Richland High School, whose mascot is the Bomber, usually depicted with a mushroom cloud. A survivor of the Nagasaki bombing who had visited Hanford just last year expressed shock at discovering the mushroom cloud proudly painted on the school’s hallway floor. The shop owner mentioned the visit and politely, but firmly, defended the mascot and logo as a critical emblem of the town’s history.

A little too behind the scenes

When we didn’t cringe or argue (mostly because I was preoccupied with convincing my son we didn’t need the black velvet Elvis painting), she offered to take us to the back of her shop. There, she had a nearly perfect replica of a bedroom from the Hanford Engineer Works Village. This was a 1943 federally sponsored planned community to house Hanford workers and families. I admit to some initial trepidation about following her back there. The shop and the conversation had put me at unease, and the room we stepped into was eerily Stepford Wives-ish. I felt like I was in that scene from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull where Indy wanders into a fake Doom Town minutes before an atomic bomb test. Remember the much-maligned “nuke the fridge” scene? No? Don’t worry about it—just know that the bedroom creeped me out a little.

Once we were safely back in the sunshine, though, I came to appreciate the museum-quality collection the shop owner is cultivating. It’s an important part of the Hanford Site story. If it were put to a vote, I’d tick the box in favor of integrating the shop owner’s eerie room into the overarching tour.

A Hanford Site recap

Here’s the most important thing parents needs to know about visiting the Hanford Site: there are amazing wineries nearby. It’s imperative you make time for them. We visited Col Solare, which offers panoramic vistas, but not a lot of distractions for the kiddos (we read out to them from Harry Potter). Then we dropped by the Hedges estate where walked around the vineyard with glasses in hand, watched some of the workers wrangle chickens into a new coop, laughed at an ornery turkey who looked like he’d been in a few dozen bar fights, quit our jobs, pulled the kids out of school, and moved into a trailer on the estate.

Okay, that last bit isn’t true, but Hedges is the kind of winery that dares you to chuck all your priorities and take up the oenological life.

Potholes State Park

I was apprehensive about bringing our trailer to a park called Potholes. However, it turns out it got its name for the hundreds of tiny islands surrounded by “pothole” lakes that make up the nearby reservoir. And the park offers lush campsites with shorebirds, great horned owls, and long, even groves reminiscent of the manicured lawns Jane Austen’s characters are always walking about, plotting their marital strategies.

Exploring Potholes

We spent our days at Potholes building mud dams along the lakeshore, weaving wreaths from fallen weeping willow twigs, disturbing the fish with our splashing, and—in the evenings—playing a lawn game of our own invention: a blend of soccer, tag, and Game of Thrones (in which we convince Little Sister she not only wants to give the ball back, but giving the ball back is her brilliant idea). Also, the campsites have enough strategically-placed trees to accommodate hammocks, so the kids were able to do their two-headed-burrito thing while Husband and I read and napped.

A couple of birders we met who were familiar with the park told us it gets very busy during the weekends. Sure enough, by Thursday we had quite a few new campsite neighbors. Happily, our nearest neighbors brought kids roughly my kids’ ages, and the four of them hit it off right away. They shared bikes, scooters, bubble wands, marshmallow sticks, and Minecraft stories. (Minecraft stories are interminable, amiright?)

Gingko Petrified Forest State Park

Just when I’d given up on finding ideas for the kids’ upcoming science fair projects during our travels, we found a petrified forest! The final stop on our Central Washington road trip was Gingko Petrified Forest. This state park hosts a remarkably diverse collection of petrified wood species—we saw petrified spruce, elm, maple, and Douglas fir logs during our hike on the Tree of Stone Trail (which, by the way, is a very gusty and exposed trail; pack water and a sweater!).

We sought refuge from the wind at the Gingko Petrified Forest Museum where we discovered…wait for it…a junior ranger program! The requirements for this badge were fun to fulfill; we watched a short film describing how wood becomes petrified, and then we hunted for fossils hidden throughout the museum. I was especially taken with the display of small, polished bits of petrified wood. The natural markings on the wood, when polished, reveal painterly landscapes and ghostly portraits. (My daughter saw a Harry Potter Dementor in one.)

Petrified forest museum

The museum is also home to ancient petroglyphs which were relocated to the site when rising waters created by the Wanapum Dam threatened to destroy them. My son remarked that whoever made these drawings probably led a happy life; they depict sunny scenes of families and wildlife and gave us a kind of contended feeling—a contentedness that did not diminish even when I saw the signs warning of rattlesnakes. As it happens, the rattlesnakes in this area attack only men—at least according to the sign—so I had no reason to fret.

The deck at the back of the museum provides a lunch spot with an expansive view of the Columbia River, and it’s relatively protected from the wind. If you can time your visit right, take advantage of the beautiful resting spot so you have the energy to check out the Gingko Gem Shop afterwards. It’s just down the road from the museum, and it looks tantalizing to kids. We skipped visiting the shop—we weren’t in the mood for a touristy jaunt just then—but if you need examples of petrified wood for a kid’s science fair project, this is evidently the place to go!

(In the end, my third-grader chose rocketry and the kindergartner chose soap bubbles for their science fair projects.)

About the author

Evangeline is a family photographer and freelance copyeditor in Seattle, Washington. Thanks to her tirelessly adventurous husband, she and her two kidlets (and said adventurous husband) are always exploring the vast and varied wonders of the Pacific Northwest. From camping to cross-country skiing, Evangeline’s family embodies the Swedish maxim: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”

Website: www.rosefinchphotography.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rosefinchphotography
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FAMILY TRAVEL, HIKE, NATIONAL PARKS, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Southwest National Parks Family Trip: Zion, Bryce & Grand Canyon
- June 3, 2019
If you’ve ever wanted to cross multiple National Parks off your bucket list in one fun week-long adventure, this is the post for you! Today, we have Katie Walsh, teacher, explorer and mom of 2, sharing her family’s most recent national parks trip through 3 amazing national parks – the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. Plus they hit a handful of state parks and national monuments along the way. She’s sharing where they stayed, what to pack, the best kid-friendly hikes and info on getting those coveted Junior Ranger badges. Are you ready for an adventure?

Planning our national parks trip

We are a family of adventurers. There we stood looking at our National Park map. Tiny pins dotted the states representing the places we’d been. Up next? A spring break trip to the Southwest where we’d explore 3 amazing national parks – the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. Our 5-year-old and 7-year-old could hardly wait to lace up their hiking shoes and get started!

These three parks had been on our bucket list for a while. We did a lot of research and planning on exactly where to go, when to go, what to do and where to stay on this national parks trip. But, first things first, we had to pack! Deciding what to pack for a whirlwind adventure that would take us to three different states and a variety of terrain seemed harder than planning the actual trip!

What to pack

We were planning our trip for seven days of adventure in mid-March and would be visiting three different states. All of these states have different weather patterns this time of year. Packing light for our whole family was going to be quite a challenge!

The answer…layers! Oh, so many layers. We didn’t want to overpack, so here are the essentials that we took for each person:
- Wools socks
- Fleece jacket
- T-shirts
- Long sleeve tees
- Jacket shell
- Hat and gloves
- One pair of hiking/sturdy shoes
- 2 pair of pants
- 1 pair of shorts
- 1 Reusable water bottle for each (there are refill stations in the airport and at the parks)
- Sunscreen
One of the most important items to have on a national parks trip like this is sturdy shoes. We did a ton of walking, hiking, climbing and running around. Good shoes were a must. I recommend going with shoes that have grip on the bottom for hiking and climbing. Trust me, purchasing the right shoes for yourself and your kids is money well spent. We discovered this during our first hike up a sandstone trail.

After doing some research, my husband and I decided on the Merrel Big Kid’s Moab FST Low Waterproof shoes for our children. They didn’t disappoint!

Trip details

With 7 days of traveling and many sights to see, we researched and put together an outline of activities before we left for our national parks trip. And of course, we made sure we had plenty of wiggle room to wander and explore built-in, just in case we found fun things to do along the way. We booked an early flight to Nevada, and finally, we were off! We landed in Las Vegas bright and early, giving us a headstart (plus, a two-hour time change). Once we hopped in our rental car, our national parks journey officially began!

Hoover Dam and Route 66

On our way to the Grand Canyon, we checked out the renowned Hoover Dam. While we didn’t take the dam tour (saying this never gets old), but there are plenty of turnouts to stop and admire this engineering wonder while completing the scenic drive.

From there, we hopped on the historic Route 66 and made our way toward Kingman, Arizona. With grumbling tummies, we stopped at Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner for lunch. It was the perfect spot to get out, stretch our legs, and enjoy a meal.

Grand Canyon lodging

The first night of our trip, we stayed at the Yavapai Lodge located in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The North Rim is closed this time of year.

Pro travel tip: To stay at one of the lodges in the Grand Canyon, get a reservation a year in advance. We were late to the party and lucked out due to a cancellation. We could only stay one night. Too bad. The lodge was perfect! Nothing fancy, but you’re not there for the accommodations, you’re there for the incredible view.

There were elk meandering the grounds. Guests are reminded to stay 100 feet away from these gentle creatures, but it became increasingly difficult as they wandered right next to the paths. Clearly, this was their home and we were all just visiting.

The South Rim has more opportunities for viewing the Grand Canyon. It also has many family-oriented activities and trails to experience with younger children.

The view was majestic. No words can describe this geological wonder.

Sunrise at Hopi Point

Bright and early on day 2, we got up early to enjoy the sunrise at Hopi Point. I highly recommend doing this! Although it was certainly a challenge getting everyone out the door on time (especially after the previous day’s travel), we knew we wouldn’t regret it. And we certainly did not! It was stunning!

6:27 am sunrise

Pro travel tip: If you go in March, it’s freezing in the morning! Bundle up!

We finished our cold adventure with a trip to the Lodge’s restaurant and enjoyed steamy hot chocolate and a plate of delicious pancakes. Once again, the elk stopped by to watch us enjoy our morning feast.

With full bellies again (notice a pattern? The key to hiking with children is always to have snacks and yummy food at the ready!), we set off to explore the Grand Canyon.

Pro travel tip: To get an overview of the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend watching the park film Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder at the visitor center. It’s a must see and as a bonus, one of the activity options to be completed for children to earn their Junior Ranger badge. The film covered the reintroduction of species such as the California Peregrine, the erosion and creation of the canyon, John Wesley Powell’s brave mission to be the first to chart the Colorado River, and how the Grand Canyon is an animal sanctuary and refuge for animals. It’s truly a wonderful film.

Desert View Watchtower

Next, we took a scenic drive to the eastern part of the canyon to explore the 70-foot historic stone watchtower. Perched on the rim, this watchtower reflects the architecture of the ancestral Puebloans. We climbed the narrow, winding staircase to the top to get a 360-view of the canyon, the Colorado River, and surrounding landscape.

Our kids also earned another Junior Ranger badge here.

Additional family-friendly trails/programs at Grand Canyon

If you’re looking for more kid-friendly and family-friendly trails and programs at Grand Canyon National Park, here are few that you should definitely check out:
- Bright Angel Trail
- Hermit Road Scenic Route (take by free shuttle, bike, on foot)
- Maricopa Point
- Powell Point
- Trailview Overlook
- Geology Glimpse (daily ranger-led program)
- Critter Chat (daily ranger-led program)
- Grand Canyon Special Event Calendar (including a star party for junior astronomers!)
Trail App

One of our favorite apps to use when searching for new trails is All Trails. This totally free app allows you to search by park, trail name, city, etc. to get a wealth of information on nearby hikes in your area. It provides lots of details on what you need to know before you go and even lets you upload photos from your hike.

Homebase – Kanab, Utah

From Arizona, we made our way to a beautiful town called Kanab located in southern Utah. It’s surrounded by towering Navajo sandstone cliffs and near three national parks, five national monuments, a renowned national recreation area, and two national forests. Talk about a great location!

Pro travel tip: Stop at the Kanab town visitor center for insightful tips and information. We learned that there are many areas with preserved dinosaur tracks. Our kids were super excited!

Kanab lodging

After doing some research, we rented a house through VRBO and made Kanab our “base-camp” for the next few days. The home was within a 30-minute drive to Zion, 90 minutes to Bryce Canyon, and 10 minutes to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Plus, the town is loaded with awesome trails to boot!

While there are many amazing options for camping, which we love to do, we chose to rent a house. Here’s why:
- It’s nice to have a home base, especially after a long day of hiking
- Washing machine and dryer = less packing
- A refrigerator = grocery shopping for the week = saving money on lunches and dinners
- Added perk (although not necessary) – the neighborhood pool!
- Price – we got more for the price that was nearly equivalent to a hotel
In the future, we’d definitely like to return and camp. There are many great sites that we discovered along the way, which I’ll briefly talk about.

Kanab kid-friendly trails & hikes

Right outside our backdoor the red cliffs towered above our neighborhood that was loaded with trailheads. It was nice to get up in the morning, go for a hike, return to the house for breakfast, map our plans for the day, then take off. Here are a few kid-friendly hikes and trails we liked:
- K-Hill Trail
- Squaw Trailhead
- Sand Caves- the climb was steep in parts along the slick rock
- Moqui Cave
Our favorite family-friendly Kanab restaurants
- Iron Horse Restaurant and Saloon – a yummy place for barbecue and old west ambiance
- Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant
- Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen (vegan/vegetarian)
For a sweet treat at the end of the day, we enjoyed Soda Fountain, a small ice cream parlor attached to the town’s drug store that was established in 1916. I’m pretty sure we became frequent visitors. Perhaps they know us by name?

Toad Stools in Grand Staircase-Escalante

Ah, yes. The Toad Stools. This was our children’s favorite spot to hike. Hidden along the roadside, it’s a short 2-mile roundtrip hike to see a land of balanced rock formations that look like mushrooms. Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument, this is truly nature’s playground for children. This was a great beginner hike to teach our children about following trails and proper footing while climbing.

Pro travel tip: There is climbing involved, although considered a moderate hike, children should always be supervised closely. Also, be prepared with enough water and sunscreen. This environment is an open and shadeless desert.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park was next on our national parks trip and it was magical! We were in awe of the red and white walls of Navajo sandstone, waterfalls, slot canyons, natural arches, and so much more. But it was busy! Due to the record amount of visitors and preservation of the area, you leave your car in a parking lot and take the free shuttle into the park. Buses arrive every 10-15 minutes.

Pro travel tip: Arrive at Zion by 8:00 am or earlier to avoid crowds and find parking. Parking lots are usually full from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. You can also park in the nearby town of Springdale and take a free shuttle into the park.

Favorite Zion National Park hikes with kids
- Emerald Pools- small streams and waterfalls with a view of Mountain of the Sun. It’s was beautiful!
- Weeping Rock Trail
- Riverside Walk
- The Grotto Trail
Due to flooding, many trails were closed, including the famous Angel’s Landing and The Narrows.

Bryce Canyon

Our next adventure on our national parks trip took us to Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah. We fell in love with Bryce Canyon! We went from shorts and sunshine at Zion to snow, hats, and mittens at Bryce. It made it for a challenging, and often slippery hike, but well worth it. Bryce Canyon was much less crowded and the kids enjoyed earning their ranger badges while taking in the extreme rock formations known as the hoodoos, which are spire-shaped rock formations.

Due to an avalanche and melting snow, some trails at Bryce Canyon were closed. We discovered that in the winter and spring, the weather from park to park is very unpredictable. However, there is always something to be discovered, nonetheless! We got there just in time to watch the prairie dogs wake up from their winter hibernation. Let’s just say they were not happy to see snow!

Pipe Spring National Monument

While not a national park, Pipe Spring National Monument lies on the Arizona strip about 20-minutes west of Kanab, on the Paiute Reservation. Although a dry, desert area, this land has drawn a succession of people because of the aquifers that hold water underground and push it to the surface in Pipe Spring.

There is so much history here. We took a tour of the Winsor Castle and learned about the relationship between the American Indians and Mormon ranchers as well as the plants and animals that still depend on this water.

Our kids earned another junior ranger badge here at Pipe Spring.

You can take a self-guided tour or join a ranger for an educational talk.

Snow Canyon State Park in St. George, Utah

Continuing west on our national parks trip, we added a state park! We made our way to St. George, Utah to visit Snow Canyon State Park. This place was awesome and has so much to offer! Snow Canyon State Park is a 7,400-acre scenic park among lava flows and sandstone cliffs. The hiking is fantastic.

Pro travel tip: Be advised, there is a $10 entrance fee.

With more than 38-miles of hiking trails from easy to more advanced, a three-mile paved walking/biking trail, and over 15-miles of equestrian trails, it’s all about picking what’s right for you. We completed a moderate hike that was 2.5 miles to see the volcanic caves and tubes. And we did some additional climbing. There is also great camping here. We checked out the beautiful campground and agreed that if we return, this would make a great home base. Our kids didn’t want to leave. There is so much to explore!

Red Cliffs

One final place you may want to check out on your trip is Red Cliffs. Unfortunately, on the day we arrived, the grounds were full and there was no parking available. We decided to skip it this time to avoid the crowds. There are short, scenic trails that take you along the canyon narrows along with a little waterfall. Camping is also available at the Red Cliffs Recreation Area.

We’ll be back!

This national parks trip was absolutely amazing. The night before we left was somber – we didn’t want to go home! It was hard to say goodbye to the incredible landscape and magical beauty of this region. With so many more outdoor treasures to explore and be seen, you can count on us to return to this 4-season wonderland in the future.

About the author

Katie is a mom of two adventure-loving children, a kindergarten teacher, and a writer for adults and children. She and her family love to travel, be outdoors, and live a sustainable life as much as possible. Katie enjoys finding ways to share these bigs ideas with the little ones who will shape the future of our world.

Follow Katie on Instagram: @adventuresparenting
Or learn more about her through her website: https://katiewalsh.blog